Blind Eyes Don't Cry
by XxBlackChaosxX
Summary: Sequel to 'Ascending to Darkness'. The story of Uchiha Ita and the debt she has to pay because of Sasuke and Sakura's mistake. AU
1. Chapter 1: Reanimation

**Chapter 1**

_Fuck, _Sasuke thought to himself as Itachi jumped down to Sakura's legs, preparing himself for the delivery of Ita. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. _He was panicking on the inside, but trying with all his conscious effort to keep it inside.

Sakura's contractions got worse - she was panting now, perspiring a little, and crying out more often. Sakura gripped his hand in hers, tighter then tight. In any other situation, he would've complained or showed that it hurt. But not now - now Sakura needed his strength and courage. She needed to know he was there for her. Sasuke, almost without thinking, used his free hand to hold hers. He rubbed it a little, whispering, "Everything's going to be alright, Sakura. I'm here." Sakura seemed to calm a little.

The night progressed. Sakura had used a great deal of her Chakra in jumping from tree to tree, and she was already about to collapse into slumber. The only thing truly keeping her awake was the more and more frequent contractions. After a few more minutes, Itachi said to her, "Deep breaths, Sakura. Any minute now..." Sakura cried out as a new set of deeper, more powerful contractions hit her. "Now!" and she pushed, crying out in pain. "Stop! Breathe." Her skin had blushed a deep scarlet. It seemed not have done anything. Sasuke felt bad for her.

This continued on until dawn broke across the horizon - _then _he heard the baby cry. Itachi took it, cut the umbilical cord, tied it on the baby's stomach so that it wouldn't bleed, ripped his cloak, and expertly wrapped it around their baby. "It's a girl." He said to them as he moved up beside Sasuke. Sasuke, before taking Ita, helped Sakura sit upright, leaning her against a tree's roots. "Got a name for her?"

"Ita." Sakura spoke over baby Ita's wail. She gave Ita her finger, to which Ita suckled happily.

Sasuke looked down to their baby girl. Sakura had been right - she had his pale skin, and already had a full head of curly, pink locks. Ita opened her eyes a little, and he heard a sharp intake of breath from Sakura. Sasuke looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ita..." Sakura began, "Ita, she's...she's..._blind._"

Sasuke looked down to Ita and repeated, "Blind?"

Sakura nodded sadly. "She can hear us, but she'll never be able to see anything." She took her finger back and gently brushed it up Ita's face.

"A blind Uchiha," Itachi said with a smirk. "Hardly makes her Uchiha at all."

"Shut up." Sasuke said simply, looking down at his blind daughter. "She might not have the Sharingan, but she'll be an excellent fighter - she'll adapt. I can tell." He wasn't exactly disappointed at his firstborn being blind; he was more surprised then anything. But deep down, he knew Ita had Uchiha blood flowing through her veins - he knew she would be a great fighter without the Sharingan. Somewhere, he knew that being blind would not be a handicap for her.

"She's beautiful, thought. For a chibi. Purely adorable." Itachi said as he stood and turned his back to them. He continued, "We should go."

"Sakura's in no position to go anywhere!" Sasuke protested.

"It's alright, Sasuke." Sakura said as she handed him Ita. "Just heal me a bit, and I'll be able to travel." Sasuke nodded an, holding Ita in one hand, used the other to heal Sakura's swollen belly. It went down greatly, so that she looked to be two months pregnant again. That was as far as he's be able to get it, he knew. Sakura nodded her thanks and stood, taking Ita back, allowing her to suckle her finger. "Where are we going, Itachi?" She asked without looking up to him.

"Iwagakure. We have a base there."

"The Stone Village?" Sasuke checked.

Itachi nodded. "We agreed to meet there. The three of us were supposed to be there by midnight."

"Well sorry for going into labor!" Sakura objected defensively.

"To make up for lost time," Itachi continued as though he hadn't heard, "we have to go faster. It'll take us a good three hours, and that's if we're fast and don't stop."

"I'll go as fast as I can, but I make no guarantees." Sakura said to him. Itachi nodded and they were off.

Sasuke hesitated with Sakura, before he instructed him to continue up with Itachi. He vaguely wondered why she was being so distant, but obliged. Itachi had an eerie silence around him, and Sasuke wished Sakura would let him go back with her.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky before they made it to Iwagakure - somewhere around noon. Sakura hadn't said a word the entire way, nor did Sasuke or Itachi. All three were panting by the time Itachi stopped them. Sasuke collapsed into a sitting position, and Sakura sat beside him. Itachi was the only one who remained standing - he doubled over, using his knees as something to lean on, and caught his breath that way. All were exhausted beyond words. Even Ita was sleeping.

After a while, Itachi stood upright. "We're supposed to meet the others by the bridge of Dawn, but I doubt they'll be there still."

"What...do we do?" Sakura hadn't caught her breath yet.

"We go there and see if they've left anything behind." Itachi told her, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't credit the Akatsuki enough."

Itachi and Sasuke gave Sakura another few minutes, then they set off. "Aniki," Sasuke began, and Itachi almost acknowledged him, "do you have any idea where we are?"

"Vaguely. I've only been here once before..." Itachi stopped and looked around.

"Master." A voice called from a branch above them. The three of them look up. "You're horribly late, un. What kept you?" Deidara jumped down from the tree. Sakura responded by smiling fondly and revealing baby Ita's face. "Congratulations. Boy or girl?"

"Girl. Ita." She smiled and held Ita close to her.

"Well, I guess Leader can't complain, un."

"Where are we stationed?" Itachi asked him.

"Right. Follow me." It amazed Sasuke how well Deidara remembered his village. Hadn't he been taken from it years ago? His memory was amazing, if that was true.

Sasuke fell behind with Sakura, the two of them marveling over their sleeping creations. Sakura had that motherly aura surrounding her already, and Sasuke wondered if he had changed at all.

They made their way through Iwagakure, perfectly silent. Deidara stopped in front of a grand building that had dragons guarding the path to the door. There had to be several floors within the grand building. Dediara ushered them in, proudly leading them.

"Deidara," Sasuke marveled, "is this _your _house?" They were in a wide hallway-like room, which had stone dragons with fires in their mouths running up both sides. The floor and walls were made of some sort of tan granite, and the dragons were saphire blue with snow white spider cracks running all over them, like veins. All this led up to a simple six-step stairway that gave way to a mahogany door, which was bordered by gold ground-torches that were also aflame.

Deidara nodded proudly. "Pretty artistic, isn't it? Iwagakure didn't sell it - I couldn't _believe _that didn't touch it since I left it, un."

"Houses tainted by murder aren't supposed to be." Sasuke said softly.

Deidara acknowledged his comment silently, bringing them through the mahogany door.

This room wasn't as great as the last, but auras of both greatness and murder filled this room as well as the last. This room was smaller then the previous, but still considerably large. All the Akatsuki were there, along with the six ANBU, who had been bound together with Chakra strings. They wriggled, but there was no way they were escaping the ties.

"_Finally,_" Sasori grunted, "I hate waiting."

"Sorry," Sakura began, suddenly cheery."We got a little tied up." She smiled down at Ita, who was awake and wondering why she couldn't see, but still accepting Sakura's finger.

"Ah, yes." Pein spoke from his secluded spot in the shadows. "Baby Ita, legacy of the desecrated Uchiha clan. Just the baby I wanted to discuss."

Both Sasuke and Sakura were surprised to hear that. "W-what do you want with her?" Sasuke asked, already half-knowing what was going to be said.

"It seems only fair to request Ita becomes Akatsuki, as payment for the both of you betraying us."

Sasuke gasped, but Sakura actually chuckled. Sasuke looked over to her and said to Pein, "She wouldn't be a good member - she's blind."

Pein wasn't phased. "The Uchiha clan are notorious for their ability to adapt - everyone knows that. If, for example, Itachi were to go blind, he would adapt to his loss of vision relatively quickly, and all because he's an Uchiha. Ita, however, would be even greater - her other senses would he heightened, and she'd be able to see her own way. Now, Itachi, Sasori, hold down Sasuke. Kisame, beat an answer out of him."

Kisame smirked, stepped up to a wriggling Sasuke, and swung, hitting his squarely across the jaw. Sasuke took it, spitting out a tooth. Sakura called out to him, but all he said to her was, "Don't let them touch Ita, Sakura." Kisame punched him under the ribs, completely winding him. Sakura was in tears. She shook with indecision and fright. Kisame pulled his hand back and struck Sasuke again, this time breaking his nose. Sasuke groaned, near unconsciousness. But he remained strong. "Don't do it, Sakura. Don't - " Something struck from behind, right under the shoulder blade. Sasuke had no choice but to cry out and fall to his knees.

"Stop!" Sakura cried out, shakily holding Ita out. Her arms shook, but held steady. "I'm sorry Sasuke," she whispered, clenching her eyes shurt.

"What a good kunoichi." Pein sneered. "Dediara, if you will." Deidara gently took Ita, whose eyes shot open at his Chakra. When he handed her to Pein, she wailed as loud as a newborn could. _She sees people by their Chakra, _Sasuke thought to himself. _Already she knows who's mother. What a smart baby Ita is. _Pein pulled one of her eyelids up brusquely and said, "Yes, she's blind. But she's adapting already - she knows who to be afraid of. Just so everyone knows she's a member of the Akatsuki..." He removed one of the piercings from his nose and aimed.

"No!" Sasuke yelled, pulling at his arms. This time he was rewarded with a blow to the back of his head, and saw stars. He swayed, willing himself to remain conscious.

"She's only a baby!" Sakura wailed, taking a step forward. Deidara and Gaara held her arms.

But Pein, if he heard them at all, did not flinch as he cruelly jammed the iron through the base of her nose, between the bridge and the nostril, on the right side. Ita wailed even louder then before at the pain. She continued screaming until her voice cracked. Sakura fell to her knees, and tears rolled down Sasuke's face. "I think I'll watch her for a while." He turned his back to them. "Take them somewhere I can't hear them. Don't bother separating them."

Sakura was pulled to her feet, picked up because she kept kicking her legs, and Sasuke was dragged there because he refused to walk on his own.

The both of them were brought to a comely enough room - it had a warm, cozy feeling to it. The bed was big enough for the both of them - a magnificent fourposter, virgin white with matching curtains that fell down over it. The carpet was a blood red, the walls a mellow tan. There was a mahogany dresser to the left, and on the right, a door leading to a granite bathroom. the bed was bordered by two mahogany nightstands - one on each side. All and all, it was very homely.

Sasuke and Sakura were thrown inside brusquely, the door clammed behind them. there was the sound of a key inserted into a lock, and the lock clicking. Sasuke fell to the ground, flat on his face. The beatings had taken a lot out of him, especially the one to his head. Now he just wanted to sleep, right where he was. His eyes fluttered, and the only thing that kept him awake was Sakura's voice as she fell to her knees beside him and called out his name. "Sakura," he managed, moving his head toward her, "you let him have Ita..."

"I couldn't stand to see you being hurt like that!" She objected, tearing. She pulled him onto her lap. Everywhere hurt, ans he groaned at the movement. "You're hurt pretty badly, and you probably have a concussion. Let me heal you a bit..." She healed his broken nose, cheekbones, and jaw. "You just need a little sleep now." She told him whilst dragging him into the four poster. She climbed in herself, and her limply wrapped his arms around her.

_**(Pein)**_

"Why are you taking her from them?" Itachi had asked.

"Only until she gets used to my Chakra. Then I embed some of it within her nose piercing, which will be sort of like Orochimaru's curse seal on Sasuke. By the age of six, she'll be strong enough."

"Why do you want her to join so badly?"

"Often, the handicapped are stronger then the normal."

"She lacks the Sharingan."

"She'll make up for it. At six, she'll drag her family back to us. Konoha won't accept her as a student or a citizen - by eight, then, she'll be full of vengeance and hate, enough to come to us willingly. Sasuke and Sakura will follow, of course, and their debt will be paid. But Itachi, I must ask you, how many children do you think they'll have?"

"Two, maximum. I could tell Sakura didn't enjoy the birthing process. But Sasuke might be able to pressure her to three."

Pein nodded. "Ita will be the strongest. Their entire family will become Akatsuki, eventually. All because of little Ita." Pein looked down to her. She had gotten used to his Chakra, but was still wailing from the pain of the piercing.

"Hmm, the infamous Uchiha clan rises again, only to fall with an evil organization," Itachi considered. "Better then before."

"We'll need the support of the stronger families if we're ever to take over."

"There's two Hyuuga among the captured ANBU. We should get them to convince their family to join, or at least one other member of their separate families. Then, slowly, both families will fall into line with us."

"Or we could convince the heads of both families to support us. Then we have them where we want them. We need the funds."

"We need the strength to fight."

"In a few days, after we let them go, we'll removed the Shukuku from Gaara. After _that,_everyone's mission will be to locate and defeat the other seven Jinchuurikis. Once we gather them all and sacrifice them, our first target if the sound village - it's the smallest. Sasuke's already killed Orochimaru, so they're politically unstable. After that, hopefully, we'll have the manpower to focus on the bigger villages." Itachi nodded, but said nothing further. There was an eerie stillness between the two of them, rippled only by Ita's cries. "Itachi, leave me." Pein directed, and Itachi left.

Pein looked down to the nearly-cried-out Ita and sat at his desk. He had rested her on his desk, and now decided to study her. She was crying from the pain more then fright, and he decided to give her back once she stopped crying - when she fell asleep, probably. Then he'd infuse his Chakra into the nose stud, and he would forever know where she was. And, eventually, she would come to him of her own accord, and pull the Uchiha clan in with her. Ita was definitely worth waiting for.

A few hours passed, and Ita cried herself to sleep. Pein added his Chakra to the stud then, and healed the area around it. Ita would no longer feel the pain, and would get used to the feeling of it quickly. He retired to bed then, evil thoughts in mind.

_**(Sasuke)**_

He woke a few hours later, with his head spiraling. Sakura was sitting over him, her eyes all red and puffy. He moaned, held his head with his left hand, and used his right to sit up. That simple motion made him want to throw up. The thought process slowly came ack to him, and he realized Sakura had been crying. Suddenly, then, everything came spiraling back. He shouted out, sat up completely, made to move. Sakura shouted from him to stop, held him close. "Sakura, what...?"

"Don't freak out, Sasuke. Look - Leader brought Ita back while you were sleeping." She moved Ita towards him a little. The little Uchiha slept quietly, the iron embedded in her nose gleaming. Tears welled in his eyes. "She's alright, Sasuke. Leader healed the wound enough so that it doesn't hurt. She's used to it now."

"Have you fed her?"

"Yes - a few hours before you woke up. I'm surprised you didn't wake up when she was crying."

"I've never been a light sleeper." His voice was hollow, devoid of anything characteristic. "Can we leave now?"

"A few more hours, they said. Leader warned that if we try and removed the stud or tell Tsunade, they'll know. If we try anything, they'll come back and take her - maybe kill us all. Just so long as we keep quiet..."

"Can I go back to sleep, then?" Exhaustion and fatigue were slowly creeping into him, and everything his senses were telling him were being blocked out; he had no sense of anything, and just wanted to sleep. Comprehension was not with him.

"I don't think you should..." But he had already laid back down, closed his eyes. In a second, he was out cold.

_**(Deidara)**_

Each of the six ANBU had been separated into a room with one Akatsuki sentry. Naruto was to watch the purple-haired girl who bored the fox, Itachi was best suited for the owl-masked ANBU with spiky brown hair, Kisame watched over the Hyuuga with the cat, Sasori was given the cheetah-mask with the horrible hairdo, Gaara and the girl with the poofy balls for a hairstyle (she wore the mouse), and Deidara was left with the platinum-blonde behind the boar. He brought his prisoner to his old room, locked the door behind them as they entered. "Remove the mask, un." He commanded the ANBU, and they complied with a sigh of relief.

"_Finally_." The voice told him it was a girl. She ruthlessly threw the mask to the ground. The female ANBU was beautiful indeed. Her platinum-blonde hiar was thoroughly complimented by her teal blue eyes. Her semi-pale skin only made the eyes seem bluer, fuller. Deidara's eyes followed the floating hair down...Images floated through his mind. Naughty images that one shouldn't imagine at the first glance.

"You have beautiful hair, un." Deidara complimented weakly whilst staring at her breasts.

The girl's arms crossed over them, and she lazily motioned upward, breaking Deidara out of his trance. He looked up to her face and she spoke. "I'm up here." She rolled her eyes at the look he let slip on his face. The female ANBU turned her back to him, removing the ponytail holding up her hair. As it gracefully fell around her, she looked back to him and said, "By the way, I'm Ino." She turned away from him again, headed for the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower." She closed the door behind her, and heard the lock click.

_Damn it, _Deidara thought to himself, _you're falling for hear already? You just had a look at her! She knows it, too. That's why she's toying with you. _Deidara looked over to the right side of the room, where another shower was located. He grinned. _Fight art with art. _At this thought, he entered the free bathroom, almost giggling with anticipation.

* * *

About a half an hour later, Deidara emerged from his bathroom, wearing a towel. He dropped his head, studying the floor, and used the right side of the door frame to hold himself up. He used his free hand to hold the towel around his waist. Deidara looked up, putting his boxers on and collecting his clothes. He threw them down beside his side of the bed and combed through his hair.

Ino sat on her side of the bed - he could hear it creak under her. "I never caught your name."

"Deidara." He said simply as he climbed into bed, keeping his back to her. The bed was small, and it forced their backs to touch. There were no blankets, for some reason. The two of them were silent for a moment before Ino shuddered. Deidara smirked and asked, "Cold?" Honestly, he was too.

Deidara grabbed his Akatsuki cloak and threw it over her backwards, like a blanket. Before she could say anything, he grabbed the visible end with his right hand and dug underneath her, between her hip and breasts, to grab the other end. Ino rolled over to face him, beginning to say something. Deidara pulled her close to him, so that they had no space between. He put his arms through the sleeves of his cloak and nibbled on her ear. She grunted a little, exploring him. Slowly her hands made their way to the inside of his boxers...She found his member, pumped it.

At this, Deidara grunted in pleasure, moving his arms out of the sleeves of the cloak and underneath it, where he worked on her bra strap, unbuckling it and throwing it to the side. He rolled on top of her, she retreated from his boxers. Deidara pushed his lips onto hers, begging for entrance. She gave in and he rushed inside, where their tongues entwined. In the rush, they took one another's underclothes off. Ino went back to pumping his member, and he moved from her lips to her breasts, suckling them. She moaned, until his hair, and ruffled her fingers through it. She dropped his length as he went down farther...

Deidara opened her up with his fingers a little and sent his tongue in to explore. Ino moaned, grabbed his head gently, and thrust upward. Deidara smirked, removing his tongue and returning to her. "Have enough already, un?" He teased, opening his left palm so that the mouth was visible. He placed it down to her folds and waited for the mouth to eject its tongue. Eventually it did, and Ino gasped. Deidara chuckled, removed his hand, and gently placed his tip into her, and she groaned. He let her get used to the pain before slamming into her. She started to cry out, but he stopped her with a kiss. He pulled out completely, feeling ready to release, and slammed into her again. This was too much for her, too fast, and tears rolled down her eyes. He comforted her with a release of his warm seed.

When he pulled out of her, Ino climbed down to his throbbing member and sucked it both softly and roughly. He grunted, had no choice but to release. She lapped up his juices and returned to him, where he rewarded he with another thrust and final release.

Deidara pulled out of her for the final time, lying beside her. Ino sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. And thus the night was complete.

_**(Naruto) **_

Hinata was silent as the two of them found a room to spend the night in. He was nervous - he knew she loved him. How was he going to tell her he was going to die when the Akatsuki removed the Kyuubi? _Perhaps I shouldn't, _he thought to himself, but decided against it when he pictured Hinata finally being told when it was too late. _No, if anyone tells her, it should be me. I'll find a way to tell her. Tonight. One way or another. _

The two of them found an empty room, and Naruto let her in first. She smiled a bit, muttering, "Arigato, Naruto-kun," and walked inside. Naruto followed behind and closed the door behind them.

Hinata sat at the foot of the bed with a sigh of relief. She removed her ANBU mask, gently placed it to the side. Naruto, unsure of what to do, sat beside her. "Hinata," he began, completely winging it, "this may be the last time you'll ever see me." _Alive,_his conscious added, and he bit his lower lip. "So if there's something you've never said to me before, now would be a good time to."

Hinata pushed her pointer fingers against one another gently. She blushed and began, "N-naruto-kun, I-I could never find the words, but I...I..." Naruto knew what she was going to say, but patiently waited for her to tell him on her own - he had to comfort her. "I've always loved you." She said, looking into his eyes.

_She's expecting criticism, _he thought to himself. He put his head behind his head, smiled, and replied, "You know, I've liked you too. You're real cute."

Hinata, red as Sharingan, looked away. "Y-you do, Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah! You're a real quiet person - we balance each other out." He leaned in a little closer. Hinata looked over too fast, accidentally planting her lips on his. If possible, she blushed redder, profusely apologizing. "It's okay, Hinata." Naruto told her gently, holding her face in his hands. He brushed his thumbs back a little, just feeling her skin. He pulled her closer gently, planted his lips on hers. He nibbled her bottom lip, asking for entrance. She complied, and he carefully sent his tongue inside and explored.

When Naruto let her up for air, she asked him, "What is this I'm feeling, N-naruto-kun?"

"Love." He said simply. Then, "Would you like me to show you everything?" She was nervous, but nodded without hesitation. Naruto gently put his lips on hers again, pushing her into a lying position. His hands gently glided up her shirt, she blushed. He caressed her, tracing around the nipples. Slowly, he pulled her shirt off. Naruto backed off, studied her. She shakily covered herself. Naruto uncovered her, saying softly, "I won't laugh." This seemed to comfort her, and she relaxed.

Naruto removed the Akatsuki cloak along with his clothes. He used the cloak as a blanket, then turned back to Hinata. Starting at the neck and moving down, he kissed her tenderly until he got to her pants. Quickly, Naruto unbuttoned them and gently pulled them off her, casting them aside. He kissed her, returning to her. "How far do you want to go?" he asked her, eagerly tugging at her underwear.

"A-all the way." She stuttered. "Show me how, Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and gently tugged her underwear off. He pulled his own boxers off, and she moaned at the sight of his throbbing member. "If you want to stop - "

"N-no," Hinata cut him off, "I w-want you to show me."

Naruto nodded again and said to her, "I'll go slow, alright?" She nodded. _Have to just do this, _he thought to himself,_she'll get nervous if I do anything else._Hinata looked down at his pulsating member again and bit her lower lip. Naruto kissed her whilst slowly entering. She cried out as he entered fully, laid on her. He rocked his hips a little, releasing his seed into her. She moaned at the feeling of the warm liquid. "See?" Naruto asked as he kissed her neck. "This is love." After a minute, he pulled out of her and laid beside her, kissing her neck.

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata's large, purple eyes stared up at the ceiling through tears. Naruto held Hinata in his arms, sharing his warmth. They fell asleep in each other's arms.

_**(Sakura)**_

For twelve hours, Sakura was left to look after Ita. The chibi was a quiet one, but when she wanted or needed something, she expected it immediately. _I don't like waiting or making people wait, _Sasori's words came into mind. They seemed to fit Ita's personality perfectly. All she did was eat, sleep, and poop. Most of the time, in that order. She was a darling, though. She didn't seemed bothered by the stud embedded into her nose at all, and Sakura was thankful for that. She wanted her baby to feel as comfortable as possible. Like they were home and nothing was wrong.

Ita was a beautiful little girl. Her pink hair was wavy, her skin looked like porcelain, and her eyes, although milked over with blindness, complimented her face. The grey-blue smothering the onyx beneath actually looked pretty. In the right light, they would sparkle with such intensity, Sakura felt they were capable of seeing. Her child was a beautiful one indeed.

Sakura had no doubt in her mind that Ita would grow to be beautiful, strong, valiant. Just like her father. She would strive to grow stronger, and live to strengthen herself. There was no way of telling how the rest of Konoha would react to her blindness, though, and that was what Sakura feared more._What if they refuse to teach or accept her because of her inability to see? _Sakura shuddered at the thought. _Sasuke'll teach her, though, and so will I. She doesn't need Konoha to teach her how to become a ninja. Besides, if Konoha _doesn't_take her in, we can always try other villages._Sakura looked down to a sleeping Ita, whom she was holding. Somehow, deep within her heart, she knew Ita would learn loneliness and hate at an early age, despite what she and Sasuke did for her. _Love of others will probably be the last thing she learns, _Sakura thought._Hopefully, though, I can convince Tsunade to let her in if no one else will - a Hokage's orders are law, after all. _She just wanted Ita to have the most normal life she could. That was all.

* * *

A few hours passed before Sasuke awoke again. Relief spread over Sakura. _He's alright! _She thought, walking over to the bed with Ita. She sat beside him, he sat up, rubbing his head and looking down at Ita. Sakura made Ita's face more visible to him and he said to her, "She's got beautiful eyes."

Sakura nodded. "In the right light, they sparkle."

"She's very beautiful, in general. Just like her mother." Sakura smiled at this, and Sasuke pecked her on the lips ever-so-lightly. "So..." Sasuke said as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, away from her. "have you heard anything from Leader yet?"

That was when there was a knock on the door. Sasuke motioned for her to stay and answered the door himself. He was greeted with Itachi's unforgiving glare. "Sasuke, Sakura." The emotionless voice sliced through them both like a knife. "Are you ready for your departure?" Sasuke looked back to Sakura, who nodded and approached. Sasuke returned to Itachi, who nodded and said, "Very well. Come with me, but don't bother trying anything. Neither of you stand a chance."

_That's right, _Sakura thought to herself, _cut us down. _She understood his motives, though, and - almost - didn't blame him. She and Sasuke followed Itachi to the main hall, where the others had gathered. Each of their ANBU friends were properly uniformed, and seemed to have had a trouble-less night. She was relieved at the thought that none of her friends had been harmed.

Pein stood in front of those who weren't holding the ANBU, holding his arms loosely behind his back in a very leader-like fashion. He stopped forward a little, so that he was only inches from the six ANBU, Sasuke, and Sakura. He paced up and down the line they were placed in and spoke, "Listen to me, and listen well - I don't like repeating myself. The happenings of these past three days and two nights will not be repeated to anyone by any of the eight of you - including Ita. It'd be useless anyway, because I'd know instantly. You will return to Konoha as though you simply went somewhere - use your imagination. When you return, you are to act as though nothing of great importance happened. The faces and names of the members here will not be remembered or mentioned, and vice versa. There will be no mentioning of this to Ita or any other child born; they will grow and develop completely ignorant to the fact that the Akatsuki exist, until, that is, we decide to reveal our existence to them. Sasuke and Sakura, we'll keep in touch. But keep out business strictly business, not personal. Keep Ita and all other family, friends, or allies ignorant to your affiliates with us. We may now ask for much, but at times we may require your skills. If this should happen, Ita, and all siblings or kin that may be born between the periods of time, are to be left behind somewhere and left ignorant still - tell her you're ANBU of something. Use your imagination. Also, any hints or clues to what you're doing with us, and Ita will pay the price. Any attempts at betraying our loyalty at all..." Pein stepped in front of Sasuke and smirked at his scowl. "...and you'll be tortured in the worst way imaginable." Pein turned his back then, walked away. "That is all. You may depart. We will not follow or escort you."

The eight of them - and Ita - left then, quickly jumping away. They stayed together until they reached Konoha. There, Ino and Hinata left them, complaining of stomach problems. The other four ANBU went back to their formal positions, and Sasuke, Sakura, and Ita entered the Uchiha manor, finally home.


	2. Chapter 2: Six Years Later

**Chapter 2: Six Years Later**

The years had flown by for both Sakura and Sasuke. Just as expected, Ita grew and developed almost normally; being blind was not a handicap for her. She 'saw' things by the Chakra they exerted. She loved fighting, and Sasuke loved training her. She never lost.

As far as Konoha went, Ita was an unwanted, but forcefully accepted, child. The academy wasn't going to accept her because 'there would've been an uneven amount of girls and therefore one team would be girl, boy, girl instead of the traditional boy, girl, boy.' But, through much arguing with both Iruka and Tsunade, Sasuke and Sakura were able to grant entrance for Ita, who was very happy at the news. The three of them walked home together, all happy about Ita's approval.

Ita herself was a very normal girl, with long, wavy, pink hair that bounced behind her as she walked. Her pale skin seemed to be made of porcelain. She preferred to keep her eyes closed, but when she did open them, the gray-blue film over her eyes would sparkle. She was a beautiful child, often silent. Ita loved training and, already, Sasuke and Sakura knew she would graduate top of her class. Ita took her blindness very personally, though, and wouldn't talk about it to anyone. Sasuke and Sakura didn't bother her about it; that'd be rude, anyway.

The both of them noticed Ita hardly cared about the stud embedded into her nose. Sometimes, when in deep thought, she would rub it, roll it around in the hole, or scratch the area around it. She never complained about any sort of pain it might've brought, but sometimes, only at dawn or dusk, she would grunt and rub it. After a while, the pain would cease, and she was back to her normal self again. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura would say anything about that, either - it would only brings questions they wouldn't be able to answer.

One day, the night Ita had been accepted to the Academy, the Akatsuki had sent a note, requiring the two of them for a mission. Quickly and expertly, they explained that the ANBU needed them and that she would sleep over Miss Ino's house, and stay with her daughter. Ita had never played with other girls before, and so she was very excited.

When they got there, Ita, although she couldn't see, looked up at the building. There was an aura of pain, misery, and alcohol around it - it radiated strongly from the front steps. She was almost afraid of the building alone, let alone whomever lived inside.

Her mother bent down to her, gently lying her hands on Ita's shoulders, and said softly, "We'll be back by tomorrow morning, okay?" Ita nodded. She could fend for herself - she was a strong fighter, and she knew her mother knew as well. Her mother kissed her forehead before standing and taking her hand. Knocking at the door, Ita's mother gave off an aura of nervousness. Ita looked up to her, but said nothing.

The door opened, and a lady spoke. "Ah, Sakura, Sasuke! This must be little Ita?" Suddenly, the Chakra from the woman's face was dreadfully close to her own; Ita backed away a little. Her mother must've made a motion to the lady, because her Chakra retracted. The woman, obviously intoxicated, called into the house, "Akara! Akara!"

After a minute of listening to the woman's shrill shouts, another female Chakra appeared at the doorway. She was Ita's height, and Ita guessed the same age. "Yes, mother?" She asked. Her voice was heavy with nervousness and uncertainty, and her Chakra level was a little low. Had she been training, or just running from danger? Ita gulped at the thought.

"This is Uchiha Ita. She's going to spend the night with us while her parents are away."

"Hmph!" She said with a cross of her arms. _What's she thinking?_Ita thought to herself. Although the girl, Akara, acted uninterested, her Chakra revealed she was _very_interested, maybe even hopeful, for someone to spend time with that was her own age. _Maybe she's not so bad, _she concluded. Her Chakra seemed like the kind Ita could learn to like.

"Show her around the place - make her comfortable. Get everything all situated and _be nice._" Ita couldn't help but notice the extra emphasis on 'Be nice'.

"Okay." Akara said with a fake sigh, although Ita could tell she was still interested in her. "Follow me, then." Ita looked back to her parents, waving goodbye. She smiled a bit, then turned back to Akara and followed her Chakra inside. She led her directly to a room she assumed was hers and ushered her inside. There was no leftover Chakra anywhere, and so she was completely blind. Ita stood in the middle of the room, waiting for Akara to touch something and smear her Chakra on it. That's how she saw things - by the Chakra they exerted or the Chakra left behind. Akara sat down on a bed, which spread her Chakra all over it, and Ita was able to see completely. "I'm Akara." Akara repeated. "Call me whatever you want; I don't care. When night falls, I suggest you stay here - you wouldn't like what you'd see otherwise. I lock my door when I go to bed, so if you're not inside before then, too bad for you."

Ita nodded, curious at the rules. "I'm Ita. It's not short for anything." She sat her bag down beside the bed and sat beside Akara. "What do you wanna do?"

"I don't like staying home with my mother or stepfather - I hate them both."

Ita studied Akara's face, although her eyes were closed. _She doesn't have a father, _she thought, _And she hates her mother and stepfather. Why? _"So, then, would you like to walk around the village? Just me and you."

"Just us?" Akara repeated, a suspicious tone to her voice. "No friends we accidentally bump into? No adults?"

"Just us." Ita confirmed. "I don't have any friends."

Akara hadn't expected this - her Chakra revealed that she was slightly surprised. She kept her cool, though, and replied, "Alright, then. We just have to be back by sunset; that's when _he _comes home." Ita couldn't help but notice all the scorn and hate Akara had put into 'he'. _She must really hate her stepfather, _she thought to herself, _Maybe I can pry more information out of her along the way. _"Let me grab my bag, and we'll be on our way." She moved from the bed across the floor and put her hand on a dresser, which was then roughly visible to Ita. Akara grabbed her bag, which had been leaning up against the dresser. She slung it around her back and said, "Let's go, then!" She seemed happy at the prospect of leaving with someone her age. Ita, smiling, followed after her.

"Where are we going first?"

"There's this really beautiful spot by a small lake separating Konoha from forest. The hill above the lake is a home to a single oak, and it's very nice for thinking or training." Akara set off, and Ita followed.

"You train?"

"Of course I do." Akara said, holding the straps of the pack on her shoulders with her thumbs. She looked over at Ita whilst walking. "If I want to be a great kunoichi, I have to practice, don't I?"

"But who teaches you?"

Akara looked to the ground. "Myself. It was a wonderful stroke of luck that I was accepted into the Academy. A lot of people consider me a freak."

Ita was surprised at this. "What? Why?"

"Because of the way I look. Of what I can do with my hands and clay."

Ita was tempted to ask what she could do, but decided against it. She could always pry the answers out of her indirectly, anyway. She didn't want to hurt Akara - who seemed to have been hurt by bringing up the subject - any more by forcing her to talk about it.

The two of them walked in silence until Ita felt herself walking up a hill. She jogged up it, following after Akara, who was now sitting against the tree she had been talking about. Judging by the Chakra that flowed through it, the tree was big enough for the both of them to sit comfortable on one side. Ita sat beside Akara, looking out at a Chakra lake. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Akara asked her. "The way the sun hits the water, and each wave sparkles individually." She seemed to truly enjoy the sight. Ita inwardly sighed, wishing she knew what the things Akara was describing looked like. Otherwise, her words were just...words. Nothing. That thought always made her depressed.

Ita's eyes stung with tears she wasn't going to let fall. She looked away and said simply, "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder."

Ita sense Akara look over to her, her Chakra saying she was both worried and curious. "Why don't you open your eyes, Ita-danna?"

"Danna?" Ita repeated in a vain attempted to change the subject.

"I say that to those I know are better then me." She turned to the lake again.

"You've never seen me fight."

"You're older then me."

Ita sighed. "What do you think of blind people?" She asked tenderly, afraid of the judgement that had always come.

Akara looked over to her, curious again. "Why do you ask?" When Ita didn't reply, Akara continued, "I have no reason to hate them. I don't like the way people around here discriminate against them, though."

"Akara, can you keep a secret?" Akara nodded, and Ita opened her eyes. "I can't see the lake," she admitted, fighting tears.

"Hmph!" Akara said, in that way of hers. Ita looked at her, confused. "You're lucky I'm good at describing things! I'll _tell_you what the lake looks like, and you can picture it in your mind!" Ita smiled as Akara turned to the lake completely and began, "Water in its natural habitat moves of its own accord. Right now, the sun, which is a huge yellow sphere in the heavens, is setting below the horizon, and looks like it's floating just above the forest - sort of like _on _the evergreens. There are clouds hovering around the sun, which are a blood red. The sky around the sun is a pink, red, and - higher above - dark blue. The lake is reflecting this, and each little wave, moving of its own accord, its sparkling against the sun's light." She didn't know what any of those nouns looked like, but Akara's voice was soothing when she was describing it, and she no longer felt like she was going to cry.

Ita smiled. Although she didn't know what any of those nouns looked like, Akara's voice was soothing when she was describing it, and she no longer felt like she was going to cry. "Arigato, Akara. I've never seen like this before."

Akara turned back to her, putting her back against the tree alongside Ita. "An artist always sees things far more beautiful then anyone else would."

"You're an artist?"

Akara laid her head back against the tree and sighed. "I used to be. Ita-danna, you have confided within me a deep secret, to which I will hold close to my heart. I am indebted to you to tell my story."

"You don't have to - "

But Akara cut her off. "I have a mouth on the palm of each hand. By feeding them clay and molding it together with my Chakra, I can make explosives out of my art. My mother forbade me from using them, but I couldn't stay away from my art - it's my passion. So, at night, I would come here and practice my skills.

"Both my mother and stepfather are alcoholics. That's one reason why I hate them - they're always too drunk to care. My mother never fights my stepfather in my defense, and he always beats me. But one night, when he saw me practicing my art, he freaked out, beat me, and sowed them shut. I have one on my stomach, too, and he sowed that shut as well. From then on, he called me a freak and everything else at my sight. That's why I can't really use my hands - the wire stitched into my hands stings like hell. I think they're getting infected." She looked down to one of the sown-shut mouths. "The move of their own accord, and they still move through the stitchings, trying to work them open. And that's why I don't look at my hands anymore - the sight of the mouths and the fact that I can't do anything makes me depressed. So I was fingerless gloves over them. It helps keep my mind off it."

"I-I'm sorry, I..." Ita's voice drifted off as she looked away from Akara.

"Hmph. Save it. Just so it makes you feel a little better, I don't have any friends, either. My stepfather spread bad rumors about me, and now everyone thinks I'm a freak." Ita opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when Akara stood, hitching her thumbs between the straps of her pack and her shoulder. "We'd better get going - we have to get back to my house before _he _shows up." She turned her back and set off down the hill.

"Akara, wait!" Ita shouted to her, running to catch up. Akara stopped at the bottom of the hill, turned her head to look back at Ita. "You have a friend." She said as she extended her right hand, offering only her pointer and middle fingers.

Akara, surprised, turned around fully. "Y-you mean it?"

"Yeah. I'll be your friend - someone who knows what it's like to be lonely." Akara, comforted, grabbed Ita's right pointer and middle fingers with her own from her left hand. She smiled, let her eyelids drop in a comforted way. "When you need somewhere to run, you can come to my house. I'm sure you've heard of the glorious Uchiha Manor?"

Akara nodded. "Yeah, I know where that is." The two of them began their walk back to Akara's, still gripping one another's hands. "Ita-danna?" Akara asked as they walked.

"Yes?"

"Arigato."

* * *

The rest of the night went smoothly. Ita and Akara were able to get back to her house before her stepfather showed up, and had the door to her room locked and barricaded before he could see them. Lighting a few candles (actually, about a hundred,) Akara explained that she had only one bed, but that Ita could have it and she'd sleep on the floor. Ita objected, telling her the bed was plenty big enough to share. Akara asked if she was really willing to do that, and Ita told her it wasn't her bed to take.

"Ita-danna," Akara asked as the two of them changed into their night clothes, "I don't mean to offend you, but why do you have that stud in your nose?"

Ita, still dressing, brought her hand up to it and rubbed it. "I don't know," she admitted, "I've had it all my life."

"You can't be born with metal in your nose."

Ita nodded. "I know. My Mother and Father go silent when I ask, so I've learned not to."

"Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes. But usually only at dawn and dusk."

"Do you ever cry, Ita-danna?"

"Blind eyes don't cry." She said both simply and coldly as she climbed into the bed with Akara, her back to her. Her friend fell silent after that.

* * *

She awoke the next morning to the stud in her nose burning. She groaned, brought her hand up to it, and pressed down as hard as she could. The pain usually ebbed away with pressure.

But today, it did not. Today, the throbbing metal was more painful, and refused to cease. Ita cried out in pain, sat up. She felt something warm drip from the metal, and she knew it was her own blood. Ita cried out again as a new wave of pain rushed over her. "Ita-danna...are you okay?" Akara asked sleepily as she propped herself up on one arm, half looking over. A gush of panic rushed over her Chakra. "Ita-danna! Y-you're...you're...bleeding!" Akara was off the bed and onto her feet in an instant. Ita cried out again, louder. "Hold on, Ita-danna!" Akara ran to her personal bathroom where Ita heard the water running. Akara returned a second later and, removing Ita's hand from the stud, held an ice-cold, waterlogged washcloth to it. Ita screamed out at its cold touch, but Akara held firm. "The coldness will both numb your nose and stop the bleeding. Bear with me, Ita-danna..."

She was right. In a few minutes, the pain ebbed away and the bleeding ceased. Akara gently dabbed the washcloth on it then, which stung like hell, but cleaned away the blood. "Arigato, Akara." Ita managed.

Akara nodded. "There's no more blood on your face," -She said that as she cleaned it off-- "but I can't say the same about your clothes."

"It's alright. I don't care about my clothes."

"Are you okay, Ita-danna?"

"I'll be fine."_What a way to start the school day, _Ita thought bitterly, and voiced it.

Akara chuckled feebly. "Yeah. You wanna walk with me there? I'll help you get ready, if you want." Ita happily agreed and put on her clothes. Akara put her own on and fixed up her hair. "I think you're all ready for school already. You look great."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh!" Akara confirmed happily. "You're a really good-looking person."

"Really?" Ita repeated. She had never received a compliment about her looks before.

"Yeah. And your eyes are the best part, I think. They sparkle in the right light. Your skin's as tender and clear as porcelain, and you pink, wavy hair bounces behind you happily as you walk."

"I wish I could compliment you, Akara." Ita said to her sadly.

"Me? I'm not very special, I think. Straight, blonde hair as yellow as the sun that goes over my left eye, and an evergreen eye color, like my mother's. I'm really nothing special."

"You're special to me," Ita said softly.

"Arigato, Ita-danna. I've never been special to someone before." Her voice was soft, almost inaudible. But her Chakra revealed that she was very happy to have received the mention.

"We'd better get going." Ita changed the subject, "we'll be late if we don't." Akara nodded, and the two of them set off.

They made it to the Academy quickly - people didn't bother them, and Akara knew the quickest routes from all her street-wandering. At the Academy, they both went to a table waiting for the new nin-in-training. Ita stepped up first. "Uchiha Ita." She said with a toss of her hair.

The sensei, from what Ita could tell through her Chakra reading, was tall and had his hair tied back, which was spiky in the ponytail. He flipped through a list and nodded. "Yes, you're on the list. My name is Iruka, and you'll be with me." Ita nodded and stepped to the side for a nervous Akara.

"Yamanaka Akara." She was shaky and tense.

Iruka looked at the list again and nodded. "You're in my room as well. Follow this corridor all the way down. It's the last classroom on the left." Ita nodded and followed his instructions. The edge of the table slipped her thigh, and she cursed under her breath. Akara took Ita's fingers in her own and guided her down the hall and to their room.

There were a few people there already: a couple of parents who didn't want to leave their babies, along with maybe five younger siblings annoying the new ninja-in-training. Akara pulled Ita to the tables by the window and stopped at the middle one (judging by where she stopped and the borders of the room made by other's Chakra.) There was a boy sitting at the far end already. "May we sit here?" Akara asked him.

The boy must've shrugged or something, because Akara sat down, helping Ita find the bench. "What's he look like, Akara?" Ita whispered. More then being able to picture him in her mind, she wanted to hear Akara's comforting voice as it did what she did best - describe things to the fullest.

"Midnight black hair, spiky, and light violet eyes. Real cute," she whispered back. "I think he possesses the Byakuugan."

"What's that?"

"It's a Bloodline Limit - something you can only get through blood. Like your Father's Sharingan. You'd have it as well, if you weren't blind." She almost enjoyed the way Akara spoke of her affliction as though it was nothing more important to her then the time of day.

Ita nodded, and Akara asked the boy his name. "Uzumaki Taru." The boy answered coolly. Ita's heart fluttered at the sound of the uncaring whisper. Her face got hot.

"Why are you sad?" Akara asked him.

The boy wasn't interested in her. He didn't bother looking in their direction. "I'm not," he denied. His Chakra revealed he was, in fact, upset. "I didn't catch your names." He changed the subject.

"Oh, I'm Yamanaka Akara and this is my best friend Uchiha Ita."

"Uchiha?" Taru repeated, looking over to them. From Akara's jealous Chakra, Ita assumed he was looking at, and more interested in, herself. Ita nodded. "So you've got the Sharingan, then?" Ita went a deep shade of red and shook her head. "Why not?" he seemed both confused and interested.

Ita opened her eyes slowly. "I'm blind." She explained softly, almost in a whisper.

"Can I have the pleasure of sitting beside you?" They had sat so that Akara was in the middle, and he was implying that he'd rather have Ita in the middle. Ita, smiling, and Akara, jealous, switched places. Akara had given of her famous, "Hmph!" as she folded her arms angrily and switched to the end of the row. When she was seated, Taru continued, "So your father's Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Why are you so interested?" Ita asked with a raise of her eyebrow. She left her eyes open now - she no longer had any reason to keep them closed. At least, around Taru. When the class began to fill, she planned on closing them again.

"I want to know how a blind Uchiha happened." Ita scowled and crossed her arms, looking away. "Oh, no, don't take it that way." Taru rushed an apology. "I didn't mean to make you sound like an oddball. I'm honestly curious."

"Then go ask my Father." Ita said coldly.

"But I'm interested in _you._" Taru said gently, and Ita looked back to him, surprised. "You're very pretty, you know."

Another compliment. And from a boy. If her heart was a nervous fluttering wreck before, it had nearly stopped now. Ita refused to let it show. "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." She said coldly.

"Wise words. But just because you can't see the beauty doesn't mean it's not there."

"So I'm told." In all honesty, his wise reply made her more nervous, her face hotter.

"I'm sorry I offended you, Ita-san." Taru apologized softly. "I didn't mean to be so rude. Please, forgive me."

His soft apology was enough for Ita. She looked back to him fully, unfolded her arms. "I have to admit, I'm curious about you as well. Akara tells me you possess the Byakuugan?" She hoped she had said that correctly.

Relief rushed through Taru's Chakra. "Yes, it's another Bloodline Limit. The only rival of the Sharingan, in Konoha, that is."

"I wish I could possess such fantastic things," Ita said softly.

"Both are cruel weapons. Neither can be defeated or outsmarted."

"What does the Byakuugan do?"

"Many things. It's earned the nickname 'The All-Seeing Eye' because it sees right through people, the area around the user, a person's personality and their Chakra. A Hyuuga can use the Chakra-sight to hit all sixty-four vital Chakra points and stop its flow completely. It's also used to see to a certain distance - say, five kilometers. That enables us to see who's coming and how fast."

"Wait, didn't you say Uzumaki Taru?"

"My Mother was from the main branch of the Hyuuga clan, and she gave me my Father's name."

Ita nodded. "Do you know anything of the Sharingan?" He had spiked her interest.

"There's only two bearers left, I believe. Two adults that can use the Sharingan. They're referred to as the Uchiha Brothers. Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi."

"What happened to everyone else?" It was a shame she had to get information on her own family history from someone she just met because her parents wouldn't tell her.

"They were murdered by your uncle when your father was our age."

"The whole clan?"

"The whole clan fell to Itachi's wrath." Taru confirmed. "Fourteen years ago. Itachi killed them all when he was fifteen."

"That's creepy." Akara broke in, completely ruining the feel around the two of them.

"My question is: why? Itachi had to have had a reason behind murdering the entire Uchiha clan." Ita answered her.

"He left with an evil organization directly after. Some day he was already a member." Taru told them.

"This organization, what are they called?" Ita asked him.

"My mother neglects to tell me. Whenever I ask about it, she goes silent."

Ita rubbed the stud in her nose. "My parents refuse to talk as well. Whenever I hear them murmuring the name 'Itachi' and I ask who they're talking about, they change the subject quickly and refuse to answer."

"You know, _my_mom sometimes mutters things about something called Akatsuki. D - " Akara stopped when she realized the name had brought a hush over those int he room. "What are you looking at?!" Akara shouted at them, and they looked away and went back to their own conversations.

"Akatsuki," Ita repeated, whispering now. "Did she ever say anything else?"

"Something about a man named Deidara. I could ask her if you want."

"Don't swim in water that goes over your head." Ita said to her. "I'll ask my parents. Maybe they'll actually tell me something."

"I'll try asking my mother as well." Taru added. "Although I probably won't get anything out of her."

At the moment, Iruka entered. The other students, which now filled the room, silenced as well and stared at Iruka, waiting for him to speak. The last of the parents left, and Iruka started attendance. "When I say your name, just say 'here,' alright?" He read off the names of the list, and people did as they had been instructed. At the end, Iruka lowered the paper, studying the class, and asked, "Is there anyone here whose name I _haven't _called?" There must've been people that raised their hands, because Iruka sighed and told them to follow him.

The classroom fell into conversation, as did the new trio. "Why don't our parents tell us anything?" Akara asked in frustration. "Don't they want us to be safe?"

Ita rubbed the stud in the right side of her nose again. "Perhaps it had something to do with _this._" She said as she rubbed it. "Maybe that's why Mother and Father won't talk of it or the Akatsuki. Perhaps they're connected."

"Why would they want_you_, though? I mean, you're only just starting your training and all..." Taru said as politely as he could.

Ita nodded, understanding. "I think all of our parents were involved with the Akatsuki at one point of their lives." A silence fell over the three of them.

* * *

Six hours later, training was complete for the day. Taru, Akara, and Ita walked together, to the hill Akara had showed her before. There, they completed their homework and discussed various things. They pooled their clues together and came to several conclusions: the first being: both Akara and Taru's fathers were members of the Akatsuki; the second: Ita's parents had been involved at one time, maybe even members; the third: all of their parents had been a part of this organization at one time and, for some reason, were unable to tell the three of them anything about it. The three of them were not at all happier with what they'd figured out. If anything, it made them angrier that their parents would keep such dark secrets from them.

They were interrupted by the arrival of Ita's parents. "Ita, _there_you are!" Her mother said, relieved. "We've been looking all over for you."

"Sorry, Mother. I was just talking with my friends." Ita stood, collecting her things. "Taru and Akara." She told them their names.

"How was the first day?" Her Father asked. Ita smiled.

"It was good. We learned a lot." She had always favored her Father over her Mother. "So, how was your mission?"

"Dull," He said simply, and she smiled. It was good to see them again. "Very dull. I missed you." Ita, still smiling, ran to her Father's side, and he draped his arm over her shoulder. "Ready to go home?" Ita looked back to her friends, sender her goodbyes, and left with her parents.

* * *

At home, Ita dropped her bag on the floor of her room, beside her bed. She smeared her Chakra everywhere, so she could see its contents again. Sighing in content, Ita collapsed onto her bed and closed her mind to everything around her. She thought about the day, about the Akatsuki, about the stud in her nose, about Akara's unfortunate life and how Ita wanted more then anything to save her, about Taru's nervous curiosity, about what they had gone over in school...

She had to be asleep then, because she heard a foreign voice calling her name. _Ita_, the voice called, _Ita, I've been waiting for you._

"W-what?" Ita called out, completely blinded by a massive Chakra. She could see nothing but the terrifying force, and it scared her. "Who are you? Where am I?"

_You're in my mind, little Ita. You're a strong little girl and I want your power. _

Ita's hand shot to her the stud embedded in her nose. "Did _you _do this to my nose?"

_A few hours after your birth. Do you not remember my Chakra? _She thought back, but didn't. Taking a nervous step back, Ita opened her eyes. The Chakra seemed so distantly familiar...Ita feared insanity if she couldn't figure it out. She took another step back, fear etched into her face. Without realizing it, she had slipped into a battle position. _Do you want to fight me, little Ita? Or do you crave power? _

She didn't want any of those things. "I-I don't want any of those things," she stuttered.

_Ah, yes. But there _are_two things you desire. You desire sight and knowledge. You're treading in deep water, Uchiha Ita, bu seeking further knowledge about things you shouldn't be meddling with. You shouldn't stick your nose where it doesn't belong. _With that, the stud in her nose pulsated and throbbed, pulling at the skin around it. Ita screamed. This was more painful then ever before.

Her eyes shot open, she bolted upright, and screamed at the top of her lungs.The stud was hurting more then ever before. She was perspiring slightly, and the covered were half on the floor. They stuck to her legs in an annoying fashion, but she hardly took notice. Blood was falling from the stud and she had never experienced such pain before. She screamed again, more in fear.

That was when he Mother and Father ran in. Ita cried out, both of them put their hands on her in an "are you okay?" gesture. "Ita, what happened?" her Mother's frantic voice asked her. She must've spotted the blood.

"It hurts!" Ita wailed, turning her head so they could see the stud. She cried out as another wave hit her.

"Sasuke, go get a rag and soak it in water! Quickly!" Her Mother turned back to her and removed her hand gently. "I'm going to try and heal it, okay, Ita? Let me see..." Her voice, although riddled with panic, was comforting to Ita's ears. She slowly relaxed, and her Mother carefully placed her hand over the stud. She felt her Mother's Chakra on her nose, and that alone made her feel better. Slowly, the pain ebbed away. Ita sighed. "Better?" Ita nodded in relief. Her Father returned with the washcloth then, and her Mother dabbed it on the stud, her face, her hands, and her body. "There. All better?" Again, Ita nodded. "Good. Now get everything ready for training today - we can't miss the first few days, now can we?"

"Sakura, do you really think we should - ?"

"She's fine.: Her Mother cut him off. "She can still go. Right, Ita?"

Ita, who was now rubbing the stud, nodded. "Y-yeah." She managed, hopping off the bed. "I'm fine." She collected some clothes and changed, all the while feeling her Father's eyes on her in worry.

There were muffled shouts of, "Ita, Ita-danna!" Outside when she gathered her things together. When she opened the front door, she was greeted by none other then Akara. "C'mon, Ita-danna!" She said whilst taking her two right fingers in her left. "We're gonna be late for Taru if we don't get moving!" She spotted Ita's parents behind her and greeted them. "Ohiyo, Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha!"

"Ohiyo." Her Father spoke, emerging from the doorway a bit. "You must be Akara."

"Yup, that's me! I'm bringing Ita to school."

"What about that Taru fellow?"

"He's our friend. Uzumaki Taru. We have to go get him now, or we're gonna be late! Bye!" She ran off, forcing Ita to run along with her.

The two of them made it to Taru's in no time, in which Akara loudly knocked on the door, calling his name. Eventually, the Uzumaki appeared at the door, cursing. "Do you _have _to be so loud, Akara? My Mother was sleeping."

"We're gonna be late!" She objected. "C'mon!"

"We have to pick up a friend of mine. But his house is by the school, so it won't take long to get him." Akara didn't like the idea, but followed Taru along his route.

A few minutes later, Taru found the appropriate house and calmly knocked on the door. A woman and her son appeared, there was a brief conversation, and the boy was walking with them, on Taru's free side (he was on Ita's free - her left.) Taru and the boy began a mediocre conversation about nothing of interest. Akara described the boy to Ita. "He's got beautiful navy-blue eyes, olive skin, and hazel hair that's sleeked back into a spiky ponytail. He's rather cute."

"His Chakra reveals he's smarter then average, and knows it." Ita told her. "Also, he's a little lazy because of it - unmotivated. Anyway, can I tell you something?"

"Of course you can, Ita-danna!" Akara seemed offended by the question.

"Good. Last night, after we spoke after our training, I had this dream. This man spoke to me, told me that me and my friends were sticking our noses where they didn't belond and warned me not to. Then, all of a sudden, the stud in my nose _burned. _Worse then at your house. I screamed, and when I woke up, I was in even more pain, and my nose was bleeding even worse."

"Do you think our meddling and your dream are connected?"

"You have to promise me you won't mention this to anyone else, Akara. Promise me."

Akara nodded. "I promise I won't tell anyone, Ita-danna."

"Arigato, Akara." She was relieved to have someone to entrust her secrets in. It made her feel secure - like there was someone else to share the weight with.

They made it to school before the bell rang. Quickly shuffling to their seats as they were yesterday, Taru, Akara, and Ita sat just as Iruka entered. "Ohiyo, class!" He shouted.

There was a group, "Ohiyo, Iruka-sensei!" with the exception of Ita's voice.

Iruka went through the attendance, in no particular order. "Uzumaki Taru? ... Yamanaka Akara? ... Nara Sugiyama?"

"That's the boy I was walking with." Taru told her with a nudge. Ita nodded and pretended she could see him.

"...Hyuuga Ishida?"

"Hyuuga?" Ita repeated, looking to Taru.

"My cousin. He's from the branch family - I'm from the 'royal' line."

"There's _two_lines?"

Taru nodded. "Yup. The branch was created as a backup family - in case anything happened, the branch would be there. Like, if we needed to have a royal family member executed, we would swap it with a branch family member."

Ita gasped at the prospect. "That's horrible!"

"Not for the Hyuugas."

"So, if anything was to happen to you, they'd swap you for Ishida?" Taru nodded. "That's disgusting." She finished, spite in both words. "Very dishonorable, if you ask me."

"All families have their differences," His words had a very weighty affect to them - Ita realized instantly that he was far more intelligent then he let off. Ita, upon realizing this, admired him instantly. She wished she could actually see what he looked like..."As do all countries, villages, people. This is what our world is built upon, Ita-san, and it could not thrive without it."

"Wise words." Ita chose her own carefully. "For one of our age."

"No matter what your age, you can still experience the same thing as someone twice it. Age is not the factor here; it's fate." Ita's heart leapt at his words. _He's _very_intelligent, _she corrected her last assumption. _What is this I'm feeling? _She felt her face get hot and looked away.

She felt Akara's eyes on her for a moment before Akara playfully said, "Ooh, _someone's_in _love_." She added extra emphasis on 'someone' and 'love' in a way that made Ita's already-hot face that much hotter. She put her head down on her right arm, using her left to cover her head. Akara giggled, but said nothing further.

The day progressed slowly from there. On several occasions, Ita had been paired with Taru, to which she clumsily ruined her reputation as being cool and collected - those few pairs made her seem clumsy, awkward, and loud. Taru was extra friendly then, and that didn't help her in the least. If anything, it made her worse! By the end of the day, Ita was ready to kill someone.

Akara, giggling all the way home, said her goodbyes and departed. Ita slammed the door behind her and went off in search of her Mother. She needed someone who would know exactly what she was feeling and would tell her without laughing. And that person was her Mother.

* * *

Neither her Mother or her Father were available. Cursing, Ita walked through the house, rubbing her hands on the walls so she could see them. She fumbled her way to her parents' room and waited outside the door. There were muffled voices of her Mother and Father echoing from inside. Ita opened the door a crack and listened.

"_C'mon,_Sakura. I haven't tasted you in so long..." He kissed her neck and she breathed in deeply.

"I-I don't know, Sasuke, I mean, Ita'll be coming home any minute now..." She clenched her teeth and tried to stifle a moan as his hand went up her shirt.

Ita decided to break in then. She backtracked down the hall a bit, then called out to them, "Mother! Father! I need to speak with you..." She stopped in front of their door, where they met her.

"Ita!" Her Mother said happily. "Do you need something?"

"Um, yeah. I need to talk to you about, uh..." _How do I say this? _She thought to herself, _How do I word it? _"I was talking to Taru today and I thought he was really smart and cool and my face got hot and Akara said I loved him," she blurted, then went a deep shade of red and looked away. _Smooth, _she thought to herself.

To her anger and surprise, her parents laughed. Her Father picked her up, and they walked into their room. Her Mother sat to her left and her Father took her right. She was placed between them. Her mother spoke first. "Ita, those feelings are natural. You admire Taru's intelligence very much, and you blushed because your admiration brought new feelings. And those feelings are called love."

"Do I love you?"

"I a different way. There's different forms of love. You love your Father and I and your friends differently from the way you love Taru."

"But Taru's a friend!" _This is way past confusing, _she thought to herself, _maybe I should just forget this._

This time, her Father chuckled and said, "Sometimes you fall in love with your closest friends. Your Mother was my closest female friend, and I fell in love with her."

"So it'd be okay to say I fell in love with Taru?"

"More like you have a crush on him."

"So I have a crush on a male friend, and that's okay?"

"Yup. Perfectly normal."

"You shouldn't tell Taru until you're completely cure he loves you back, though." Her Mother warned. "On most boys, if you tell them you love them, and you're serious, they might get scared and become cruel. So you have to be careful and gather information subtly. Once you know how he feels, you do anything you can to get on his good side - without annoying him. Eventually, if you're really determined, you can get him to love you back. Then it progresses from there. You just have to be patient and let time and fate work their magic."

_Do I get all that? _She asked herself, then nodded. _Yes, I understand perfectly now. _"I think I understand. Arigato!" She jumped down off the bed and left them. "I'm gonna go do my homework now!" She called back to them. She went to the back of their house, which was a very wide, open field, and trained. _I have to practice my hardest to impress Taru! _She thought to herself as she attacked the thick beam of wood over and over again. She gave it her all, as though it was actually an enemy. Over and over again, she attacked the beam, spurred on by the thought of impressing Taru.

Night had fallen before Ita's stamina gave in. She fell to the ground on her knees, panting._I lasted a long while, _she commented herself, _but not long enough. _She let her head drop and struggled to catch her breath.

"You shouldn't work so hard just to impress someone." Her Father's voice said to her. Ita looked over to her shoulder at him and he continued, "You're strongest when you have someone to protect. Like, say I was protecting you and your Mother from an intruder. I would be stronger then because I had a _true _reason to fight."

"So I should fight_for _someone, and not to impress someone?"

Her Father nodded and helped her up. "Also, your stance is all wrong - if you stood this way in battle, you'd leave many vital areas unprotected. Here, try copying me." He gracefully fell into a stance. Ita studied it for a moment before attempting to copy it. It was awkward, not using a stance of her own. But, although her Father helped her perfect the new stance, she felt more protected and guarded. "This position is good because it gives you the oppertunity to reach either your kunai or your shruiken - you have room to move." Ita tested the stance and found it true. "Now, show me one of your own."

"I don't - "

"Just protect yourself in the best way possible. Everyone had a different stance to fit their different needs." Ita awkwardly found a way to both shield her vital points and quickly access her weapons (that her parents wouldn't allow her to have yet.) This stance was much more comfortable, and less awkward for her. "Good, good. You've found your stance. Now all you have to do is remember it and incorperate your moves into it. Eventually you won't have to even think about it."

"I want to be able to fight, Father! I wanna be the best!" She fell out of her stance and onto the ground clumsily. _Damn it, _she thought to herself, _I'm still clumsy!_

Her Father chuckled and helped her up. "You lack finesse, Ita. It's an essential for both female _and _male nin."

"Finesse?" She repeated, unsure of the accuracy of the word.

Her Father nodded. "Yes. You must stand firm on your feet, but remain calm and relaxed. You won't need a conscious effort to stay this way after a while."

Ita studied him. He seemed to be perfectly relaxed - he had both hands in his pockets, leaning back a little. If anything, he looked to be relaxing. "You don't seem alert at all." She noted.

"On the contrary - I'm aware of everything around me. For example: in the woods to our right, about twenty-five kilometers in, there's a bear eating some foliage." Ita looked to the right and gasped when she saw the bear's Chakra. She hadn't noticed that before. "Didn't notice it, did you?" Ita shook her head weakly. "You'll learn this all over time. But right now, we should go over the basics. A good ninja always has a mastery over the basics."

Ita nodded. "Okay. Step one?"

"Step one is to keep yourself collected - it's bad shinobi skills to let yourself fall like you did at school. From now on, you have to have a firm and steady posture."

"Without being tense." She added.

He nodded. "You should be able to fall into your stance at any given moment. This is probably the most basic thing you'll ever learn - it's the fundamental of fighting. There's hardly anything else you'll learn that's more important. And do you know why?"

"Because without the basics - without a basic stance - there's nothing?"

"Very good!" He praised, lying his hand on her head, ruffling his fingers through her hair. "Anyway, your Mother sent me to come get you - dinner's done." He took his hand back and took her in his.

"But I'm not hungry!" She objected, although still walking with him. "I wanna train more!"

His Chakra revealed that he was proud. "True shinobi know when to stop for a break."

"By the time I finish eating, it'll be time for bed." She gruffed.

"You're a brillant girl, Ita. But you're tired - I can see that. If you push yourself too far and exhaust all of your Chakra, you could die. Are you ready to die already?"

He was always straightforward with her, and she had always admired that about him. But sometimes, when they spoke of it, his bluntness with death scared her. "N-no, Father." She stuttered, "I don't want to die. I want to become stronger."

"The find someone worth fighting for. It makes you truly as strong as you can be."

They walked in silence to the house, the kitchen. Her Mother was there, setting the table with very good-smelling plates filled with steaming-hot food. Ita's mouth watered as she took her seat at the middle of the table. Her Father sat to her left, and her Mother took the right. It had always been this way. "Arigato, Mother." She said as she broke her chopsticks apart and took a bit of food, carefully putting it into her mouth. All was quiet for a long while before Ita put her chopsticks down and sighed.

"Something wrong, Ita?" Her Mother asked her.

Ita decided to be blunt. "What exactly is the Akatsuki?"

Nervousness cascaded from both her parents' Chakra. "How did you hear of the word?" Her Father asked her.

"It doesn't matter," her Mother interjected, "because we're not saying another word." She folded her arms and sat back.

"This stud - it bothers me most at dawn; Akatsuki. Akara's never known her biological father, but sometimes she hears her mother utter the word, and Taru's never known his father, either. He asks his mother, but she won't say a word. Both of their fathers are members, aren't they? The Akatsuki did this to my nose, right? That means both of you were involved at one point. And - "

"Ita, that's enough!" Her Mother shouted, slamming a fist down on the table. "You're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong! And doing so will only lead to pain!"

"You know, that's exactly what _he _said in my dream last night, before he sent the pain to the stud." She went to leave. As she walked away, she said to them, "You refuse to tell me what I want to know. That's fine - I'll figure it out myself." She left them. _If they don't want to tell me, _she thought to herself, _I'll find out on my own. _


	3. Chapter 3: Journeys to Undying Lands

**Chapter 3: Journeys to Undying Lands**

She let them think everything was going back to normal after that. Her parents still watched her movements closely, although two years had elapsed. The stud in her nose seemed to be growing impatient; it would burn and tingle at morning, noon, and night at each corresponding time. When she awoke, it would be tingling; at lunch, it would tingle; and, when she was ready for bed, it would tingle. At first it was annoying, but after two years, she had almost gotten used to it.

She was growing and developing quickly, along with her friends. She and Taru were slowly growing closer, and she was bonding a little with Sugiyama. The boy was a genius, although he lacked self-confidence and believed his father was even smarter then he. Akara, although growing stronger, was constantly in pain from her stitched-up hands. She was almost unable to give sufficient blows to her her fake enemy. She was forced to use long-range attacks with kunai and shruiken. Sometimes she'd cry out in pain, and Ita wanted to comfort her. But not at the Academy. Only when she slept over, which was often, would Ita comfort Akara openly. Akara, although she wouldn't openly admit it, loved the comfort Ita gave, and so their friendship grew stronger.

On the outside, Ita was content with her friends, family, and training. She was, but deep down inside, she knew she didn't belong. She belonged with the Akatsuki, beside the leader who had stabbed that stud into her nose so many times in her dreams...She could never see him though; he was always a dark silhouette, either blocked by an immense Chakra or not visible at all. Sometimes he just stared at her - she knew he was because she could feel his eyes on her - whilst other times he'd say something, warning her not to stick her nose into things. But she hadn't spoken to her friends about their suspicions in two years...When she said that to the Akatsuki leader, he would tell her how she belonged to them, how she was the payment for her parents' debt...

She would wake from the dream then, her nose painful bleeding, her little brother - two years old - crying at the sight of her blood. She would hush him, clean herself up, and refuse to go back to sleep. The rest of the night would be spent by the simple process of thinking, although she never got any further in her conclusions. The Akatsuki remained elusive and out of her grasp, and she was left with the feeling of being out of place. Mishu, her little brother, would cry out for her calling, "Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" And she would hiss at him,

"Mishu! Quiet. Go back to sleep." And he would silence after that, falling back into his deep, thoughtless slumber.

A few days later, she'd decided. She didn't belong in Konoha - she was already identified as the blind Uchiha, the ruin of both Konoha and the Uchiha clan. She wasn't known because she was great or because she was an Uchiha - she was known because she was blind. All evidence told her that this was not where she belonged. And so, that night, when her family was fast asleep, she put her day clothes on and left. She didn't need anything she couldn't see, but she _did _bring several kunai and shuriken with her. Just in case.

Although she couldn't see, Ita had learned that by sending Chakra to her feet, she could pulsate it through the ground at a circumference of five kilometers, and could see all objects within that diameter. Walking was no longer a problem for her.

At first, Ita walked through the streets, stopping at the houses of her friends. The last she stopped at was Akara's. She stared up at the gloomy house, carefully listening. As expected, there was the sounds of things falling over and breaking, and a heated altercation between a male and a female. If Akara was in the house at all, she had already barricaded herself into her room for the night.

A wave of guilt rushed over Ita and she looked away, continuing on. She had no idea where she was headed, but had a feeling the stud in her nose would guides her along the way. _Goodbye, Akara, my Hikari, my light. _She thought to her. _You'll probably never see me again, so, sayonara._

_**(Akara)**_

The next morning, Akara stopped to pick Ita up at the Uchiha manor, only to find the door swing open effortlessly. The aura that gushed from the house scared her, but she stepped inside, calling out, "H-hello?" She strained her ears to listen, and was rewarded with the sounds of soft sobbing. "Hello!" She shouted out, running to the source of the sounds. Akara followed the sobs through the labyrinth that was the Uchiha manor until they were at their loudest point. She stopped in front of the door the cries seemed to be emanating from and called out, "Hello?" She gently pushed the door open to see Mrs. Uchiha, lying on a bed, with her back to her. "Mrs. Uchiha!" She shouted as she ran over to her. "Are you alright?! What happened?!"

Mrs. Uchiha rolled onto her stomach, sat up. She used her left arm to hold her up and the other to rub her eyes. "Ita...she...she left."

"She left?" Akara repeated, unsure. "Where?"

"I-I don't know exactly, b-but I have an idea..."

Akara gasped, balled her fists, and took a step back. "Y-you don't mean the - ?"

"Akatsuki." Another voice interjected. Akara looked over her shoulder to see Ita's father.

"M-mr. Uchiha..." Akara stuttered, suddenly feeling guilty. "I-i'm sorry, I..."

"It's fine." He stopped her. "Did Ita suggest anything to you?"

"N-no, she was fine yesterday." His cool demeanor was scaring her.

"Stop, Sasuke - you're scaring her." Mrs. Uchiha interjected, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Where's Mishu?"

"Still in bed sleeping."

Realization hit. _This is their room, _she realized, noticing the candles, the romantic atmosphere..."O-oh, t-this is your room! F-forgive me, I-I didn't..." She made for the door, which Mr. Uchiha unblocked. "I have to go!" And she ran, out of the Uchiha manor and to her own house.

_Something's not right,_Akara thought to herself as she made her way to her house. Something told her to go through the back door, and so she did. Silently, she pushed the door open and carefully closed it behind her. There were shouts, things breaking, and muttered curses coming from the next room. "What did you tell her, Ino?" A foreign male voice asked. Akara's heart raced. "Damn, you're drunker then drunk, un!"

Akara opened the kitchen-to-living room door a crack and looked through to the living room. The only thing she could make out was her Mother, being gripped by two rough hands. She was gripping the hands, intoxicated beyond capacity, and said to the intruder, "I haven't told her anything! She doesn't know of the Akatsuki. I've been true to your leader's order, I swear!"

"Liar!" The person yelled, and the arms threw her Mother back, and her head hit the far with a grotesque sound of cracking bones. She moved no more. Then an, "Oops. Think I killed her. She was just as easy to kill as the man she was with. Pathetic, un."

Akara could stand it no longer. She pushed the door open fully and revealed herself. She stared up at the two Akatsuki, eyes wide, mouth agape. She couldn't see much of them - both were hiding their features under a coned hat and the large neckband of their cloak. Well, one was anyway - the other was wearing a simple hooded cloak. She realized she wasn't breathing, but hardly made any notion to do anything about it.

Suddenly, her head snapped to the left, where her dead Mother lie. _Yes, she's dead. _Akara thought to herself. _Good riddance. _"You killed her." The cliché sentence came out of her mouth before she had time to stop it.

"Are you going to cry, little girl?" The hooded figure asked. "We just killed your Mother and Father."

Anger welled into her then. She balled her fists, clenched her teeth. She looked to the ground, shaking with anger.

"Oh, look, she's trying not to cry!" The cloaked figure daunted. "How cu - "

"He's not my Father!" Akara shouted, cutting the hooded figure off. She looked up again, taking a half-step forward "No _pig_like_him_could_ever _be my Father! I've never known him, but my Father is much greater then that bastard! He's valiant, brave, daring! And when I find him, he'll..." Her voice drifted off them, and she looked to a gloved hand. Only the tips of her fingers were visible, where she had cut the tips off. She flexed her fingers weakly, wishing the gloves actually kept the mouths out of sight. But sadly, no, she could still see the mouth wriggling in it's forced-shut state; could still see the lump of wire that tied it shut. Tears welled in her eyes at the sight - at the painful reminder that she was too weak to removed the wire herself. She had always told herself that she didn't know what to do, but her Father would - she had always told herself that her Father would know what to do, that he would have the same mouths on his hands and know everything about them. Or, at least, enough to free them. But whenever she thought about it, the same question haunted her: _What if I'm the only one? What if my Father doesn't have the mouths on his hands, like Mother? What if I'm just a freak, like everyone says? _

Akara fell to her knees at the thought; it always scared her whenever it drifted into mind. "You shouldn't love them so much." The cloaked figure continued. "It only leads to pain in the end - getting attached." His voice was softer now, as though he understood a little.

"That wasn't what I was thinking about." She answered softly, still staring down at the gloved hand. "I don't care about my Mother, nor do I care about my stepfather. I was thinking about myself.

"That's very conceited, un." The other said to her.

"Hmph." She replied simply. For a minute all was quiet, before she continued, "My stepfather liked to spread false rumors about me. Everyone thinks I'm a freak. I've got nothing left in Konoha now."

"Then leave." The cloaked figure said simply.

Akara chuckled, standing. "Where can an eight-year-old girl go without being stopped, killed, molested, or worse?"

"_We_can't take you, if that's what you're implying."

"What if I paid you, hired you?"

"You'd have to have the funds."

"Mother was an ANBU, although she's a pathetic waste of time. Anyway, wait here." She left them, entering her Mother's room that was off to the side. She searched under the bed for the suitcase that held her Mother's payment. She found it, dragged it out from under the bed, and - much to her hands' dismay - lugged it back to the two Akatsuki waiting in her living room. Crying out at the pressure her hands were taking, Akara dropped the briefcase in the middle of the room and ran into the kitchen, curing loudly.

In the kitchen, she quickly removed her gloves and studied them. The areas where the mouths were stitched shut was bleeding again. They had a tendency to whenever she did heavy lifting and the wire stitching them shut would dig into them, making them bleed. She would feel the warm liquid ooze out from between the stitchings underneath her gloves, and no matter what she was doing, she would stop and wash her hands. It had almost become a ritual. And, following that ritual then, she turned some hot water on and thoroughly washed her hands.

She quickly returned to the Akatsuki, gently chewing on the wires of her left hand. It was comforting, and made her feel better. She had always done that, ever since the day her stepfather stitched up her hands.

Akara shook the thought out of mind as she returned to the living room. "What took you?" The cloaked figure asked irritably. "We were about to leave if you took any longer."

Akara frowned, moved her hand from her mouth. "Hmph! I was gone less then two minutes!"

"Anyway, your proposal?"

Akara nodded, shoving her gloves on, and sat on the floor in front of the briefcase, opening it. It was filled to the brim with thick wads of bills, and Akara smiled. _Must've been the payment for the last job, _she thought to herself, _which, luckily, Mother hadn't spent yet! _"Will_this _be enough for your services?" She asked as she turned it around so the two Akatsuki could see.

They kept their cool. "It _may_be enough to scrape you by, if we count it, un." The one with the red clouds on his cloak said coolly.

"What are you talking about? There's more money then your pathetic group knows to do with!" Akara snapped, then blushed and looked away._Keep your cool, Akara. _She thought to herself. _These two, and the entire Akatsuki organization to which they belong, are murderers. _

"You're right," the hooded figure agreed, which stunned her into looking over to them again. "So we'll accept. This much money practically buys our freedom. What exactly do you want from us?"

"My friend, Uchiha Ita, was reported missing only a few minutes ago. I have reason to believe she left seeking your leader."

"So you want us to bring you to him?"

"I want you to locate Ita - hopefully before she reaches your leader. If not, then before she does something stupid. I have to stop her."

"Is that all?" He sounded surprised by the simplicity of her orders.

"No. I want to locate my Father as well. Also, I have conditions. First of all, when in my company, I expect nothing less then the two of you acting like the gentlemen you are. Use your manners and whatnot - I know you have them somewhere. Secondly, since I'm coming with you, I expect to be taken care of at all times. You know, food, water, shelter, et cetera. Wherever you go, I go as well. There will be no leaving me behind, no matter what - I can protect myself well enough if anything should happen. When the mission is complete, you'll receive your money - whether Ita comes back with me or not."

"So, whether we can actually complete this mission or not, we still get paid?"

Akara nodded and closed the briefcase. "There money inside here will be used _only_for food and maybe weapons or medical supplies. At the end, you two will be rewarded with everything inside this briefcase, no matter how little or great the actual value is. Either way, at the end of all this, we part. But one more thing: you have to bring me back, depending on the situation and what happens. I'll know when it comes."

"That's a very well-developed plan. No loopholes."

"An artist always thinks on their toes; outside of the box, un." The other said.

"How'd you know?" Akara asked as she put her hand behind her head, closing her eyes, and smiling. "I was gonna say the same thing!"

_**(Deidara)**_

He hadn't expected to have impregnated Ino eight years ago, but it was obvious the blonde, green-eyed little girl smiling across at him was his daughter. "By the way," she had said, opening her eyes again, "I'm Akara." Akara. That was a pretty name, original. It fit her, too. At least Ino had done something right for their child.

"Sasori." Sasori grumbled. It was clear he had put two and two together, and by now knew who Akara was very similar to.

"Deidara." Deidara told her his own name.

"Deidara?" Akara repeated, curiously tilting her head to the side. Deidara nodded, wondering what she was thinking. "My Mother, when delirious, would say things about you and the Akatsuki."

"Hmm? What'd she say?"

"I could never really understand her. Most of the time, she was crying whilst she slept. But whenever I _could_decipher what she was saying, it sounded like she was having a flashback or something..." Her voice drifted off, then picked back up on a different note. "Why'd you kill them, anyway?" It was amazing, he thought, how she was so easily _un_harmed by their deaths.

"He got carried away." Sasori interjected. Deidara nodded. She didn't need to know that her Mother had been chosen among the six ANBU to be killed by Leader, and that it was they, by an odd stroke of luck, who were chosen to assassinate Ino. She didn't need to know.

"I guess that happens." She smiled again. The pure lack of regret or pain amazed Deidara; either she was really good at masking her true emotions, or she really didn't feel any remorse for having lost the woman that gave birth to her.

"We should go." Sasori said as he stood. "The longer we stay here, the further away Ita gets."

"Right!" Akara shouted as she energetically jumped to her feet. Deidara stood, grabbing the briefcase, and nodded. "Where should we head off to? What direction?"

"The direction of the closest base." Sasori reasoned. "And that's above the Hokage's monument - the mountain with all their faces in it.

"How do we get _up_there?!"

"Back-roads. It'll take us all day but hell, we've got time."

"Ita'll probably take the longer way, anyway." Akara reasoned.

"Why?" Deidara asked her. "If she really wanted to get up there, she could just jump up, un."

"She can't. Ita's blind."

_So it really is _that_Ita._Deidara thought. _Uchiha Ita, blind legacy to the infamous Uchiha clan. The revolution has begun. _The three of them left Akara's house then, Sasori leading. Deidara walked at a calm pace, as though there was absolutely nothing wrong. They stopped at a small eatery, the type that didn't have any doors - only drapes. They walked in, sat down, and ordered a couple of ricecakes. They ate slowly, almost _too_slowly, but weren't bothered by anyone until Akara was about to bit into her second cake.

"Akara-chan!" A boy's voice called from behind. Akara tensed up and nearly swallowed her ricecake whole. She looked over her shoulder. "Akara-chan, you're okay!" The boy ran up to her, and Deidara was able to see him out of the corner of his eye. He was her age, with navy blue eyes and brown, spiky hair that had been slicked back and strung into a high ponytail.

"Hmm? Sugiyama, what are you doing here? Isn't school still in session?"

"Everyone was sent home because of the body of an ANBU being found, dead in her home!"

"When?"

"About ten minutes ago. But are you okay, Akara-chan? And what about Ita? Neither of you showed up for - "

"Ita ran away." Akara cut him off coldly, wheeling around on her stool so that she was facing the counter again. She took a bite out of her ricecake and said, "You should go home, Sugiyama. The streets aren't safe."

Seemingly to her annoyance, Sugiyama sat on the stool beside her, on her left. Akara politely ordered him a ricecake and a cup of tea for herself. "Are you okay, Akara-chan? You seam distant...Is something troubling you?"

"The lotus blooms twice." She said simply, taking a sip of her tea.

"What do you mean?"

Akara sighed. "Ita left, and I'm leaving too. I'm going to get her back."

"By yourself?! Akara-chan, you can't - "

"I've got nothing to hold me back, Sugiyama. I'm like a bird: in times of danger, fear, or pain, I only fly away, following the setting sun in the east, and my heart as it murmurs in my chest." If he could, Deidara would've said something to her powerful analogy. _She's very artistic, _he thought to himself, _in may more ways then just art itself. _

"You've always had a way with words, Akara-chan. Yet the voice speaking them is always so careful, harboring so much pain. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Your best friend ran away and your mother was killed only minutes ago. They don't call me a genius for no reason, you know. Anyway, thanks for the cake." He swirled around in the stood and left.

Akara stared back at him, then with an "Hmph!" She swirled back around in her chair, so that she was facing the bar. "Thinks he's _so_smart just because his IQ is a hundred and fifty."

"He read you like a book, un." Deidara contradicted her, finally able to look over to her.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't know anything about me." She bitterly. bit into her ricecake. Deidara felt a little smirk coming on.

"What is there to know, un?"

"Maybe why I wear these gloves. My greatest goal. My biggest fear. Everything he does is only to spite me. He knows nothing." Deidara fell silent at the bitterness in her voice.

Sasori interjected then. "We should go - we've been here too long." The three of them stood, paying for their meals, and left.

The streets were perfectly silent - void of all people and sounds that were evident only a few minutes ago. The citizens of Konoha had hid inside of their homes, locked the doors tightly shut. The three of them were the only three people on the streets, and they walked silently and calmly. There was an eerie silence suffocating Konoha and all those inside.

Soon, Konoha fell behind them, and the sky grew dark. Sasori stopped them, and they set up a small camp off to the side, deep within the forest where they wouldn't be seen or disturbed. Deidara offered to find some firewood, but Sasori rejected the idea almost before it was completely muttered, saying they were still too close to Konoha for the smoke not to be seen. Sasori moved away from them a little; off to the side. Akara went off to the said a little as well, removing the pack from her back and using it as a pillow. She held her left hand close to her mouth, making it seem she was sucking her thumb. But she wasn't - her thumb was tucked beneath her other fingers. Deidara supposed it was comforting. Blinking the thoughts away, he took a spot of his own, facing Akara's back. He stared at the back of the inanimate, slim figure until he felt his eyelids grow heavier and heavier until...

_**(Akara)**_

She awoke the next morning to the pleasing sound of birds chirping. Sitting up, Akara held her arms up high in a sort of Y shape and yawned. She slung her pack over her shoulders, briefly running her fingers through her hair. Standing, Akara yawned and stretched again. She looked over to the two Akatsuki, finding they were both still asleep. Almost ghostlike, she smiled.

Akara turned to face the Akatsuki completely, took a seat, and removed the pack from her shoulders. She et it in front of her, shoving her gloves into her pockets, and unzipped the bag, greedily feeling its contents between her fingers.

All that was inside was clay, and although she cold no longer animate it, she still craved its touch, the coolness of it between her fingers, under her fingernails. This always relaxed the mouths on her hands, and it always calmed her. Through the constantly-changing everyday chaos she went through, the clay was the only thing that remained constant. She carried the pack at all times, in case something happened. The clay, whilst keeping her calm, served as a constant reminder of what she strove for, of what she would never let anyone experience.

Almost mechanically, Akara lifted a bit of the clay and lolled it around in her mouth. It tasted...better then she expected. Akara found herself fully awake suddenly, and continued to allow her body to move of its own accord. Her mouth spat the clay back out and molded it into a baby bird. She stared at it in disbelief, unsure of what was going to happen.

It_moved_. Akara gasped, watching the chick flex its wings, crawl around her hand. It had been years since she'd created a living thing, and seeing this little chick hop around now was like seeing it for the first time. Hope gushed through her then. If her normal mouth possessed the skill to breathe life into her art, then her hands still possessed the ability as well. Akara brought the little bird close to her face - it pecked her a kiss goodbye before flying away. In awe, Akara put her hands together, sending her Chakra. "Sayonara," she whispered softly as the bird exploded.

"So, you've inherited my art, un." The familiar voice of Deidara said from behind.

Akara's heart skipped a few beats as she looked over her shoulder. He sat beside her and she stuttered, "W-what are you talking about?" He had sat to her left, where she could see his visible eye. Chuckling a little, he removed his hat and looked over to her. She had never felt her eyes widen more then they had then, nor had she ever stopped breathing for so long.

The man beside her was her replica. Or, rather, she was his. They had the same hair color (his hair was up and covering the left eye, where her's was down and covering the left eye), the same pale skin. If they were the same age, they could've been mistaken for one another._This _was the man who her Mother had cried about in her intoxicated slumber, who shared the artistic gene. _This_man, who she had desired to find more then anything else in the world, was sitting there beside her, right here, right now. Without even realizing what she was doing, she grabbed Deidara's - no, her_Father's_ - arm in hers, clinging to it as though she was in danger. Sobbing, Akara murmured phrases that even she couldn't understand.

"So, why do you wear gloves, un?"

Akara used her right fist to clear the tears out of her right eye as she backed off him. "M-my stepfather...he sowed them shut." She had nowhere to look as she removed the glove on her left hand and shakily opened it.

"How long ago was this, un?" He asked as he gently took her hand in both of his.

"A-almost three years ago."

Her Father - as newly renamed - took her arm under his and carefully began his work on the stitchings. Merely touching them almost reduced her to tears, and she knew she'd pass out before he was completely finished. She groaned, letting the tears fall freely as she laid her head on his arm. "D-daddy?" She managed, liking how the name fit him.

"Un?"

"How bad is it?"

"Fixable."

"Will I be able to make my art again?"

He smiled at this. "You really _are_just like me, un. But yes, your hands should be fine after a while."

She sighed, comforted. "I've hated myself because I couldn't fix them on my own. So, instead, I carried this pack on my back as a constant reminder of why I had to train harder, become stronger."

He was silent at this before carefully replying, "I'm sorry you never knew a happy life, un." Sorrow was filled in every word.

He hit a tender spot wrong and she cried out, dropping her head on his shoulder. She forced through the tears before answering, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." She really didn't want to talk about her life.

The rest of the unstitching process passed silently. Her Father carefully and gently removed the stitches, but still, Akara felt faint before he was close to finishing. She wanted to either puke or cry, but knew full well she couldn't. Not in front of her Father and his Akatsuki partner. If she ever cried, it was in the confines of her room or when she was bathing. But not now.

When the stitches of her left hand were completely removed, he placed his hand over hers and closed his eyes. For a minute, there was nothing. But then, she felt the tongue from his mouth swirl around hers. Hers opened, and the tongue of his rushed inside. There was a soft battle of tongues where his gently swirled around hers. The pain slowly ceased.

Akara, wide-eyed, stared down at their hands. Her hadn't felt for good in years. "W-what did you just do?"

"Relatives can heal Bloodline afflictions best, right?" He asked as he pulled his hand back. The now-healing mouth happily stuck its tongue out and tossed it around, happy to finally taste the air. "How's it feel, un?"

She studied it a moment before happily shouting, "Good!" She pulled her pack closer to her and plunged into its only contents. Almost greedily, she shoved her hand into the pack and picked up a clump of clay, rolling it around her fingers. The mouth on her hand used its tongue to pull the clay in. Akara closed her hand gently, cooperating with the mouth as it chewed the clay.

The mouth ejected the clay, and she gently pressed it and formed it into an elaborately decorated butterfly. If it had color, it could've been mistaken for a real one. Akara threw it up gently, staring up at it as it gracefully flew away. She didn't want to make it explode, but before she realized what she was doing, she had put her hands together in the sign of Chakra and sent her Chakra to it. The butterfly instantly exploded, raining sparkling lights all around. Akara no longer felt guilty for forcing the butterfly to explode - instead, a rush of happiness swept over her. So powerful, in fact, that she squealed and hugged her Father's arm as tight as she could. "Arigato, Daddy! Arigato, arigato, arigato!" Each time she repeated the phrase, she squeezed a little tighter.

Her Father, smiling, said to her, "Glad you're so happy, un. But we have to do the other hand, no?" Akara, still happy, removed the glove from her right hand and handed it to him. He looked over his shoulder briefly. "Ohiyo, Sasori-danna!" He said, almost cheerfully.

A red flag went up. "Danna?" She repeated.

"Un. I use it with people I respect or know are better then me."

"I do too!" She squealed, tackling him. "We have so much in common, chichi!" She nuzzled her head in his chest, listening to his comforting heartbeat.

Her Father chuckled and, putting his left hand over her head, laid the other over her back. He ran his fingers through her hair. "You know, I don't regret meeting your Mother or killing her, un."

"Hmm? Why?"

"Because then I'd never have met you. You're very good company, un."

"Same here." He was warm. So, comfortingly warm. She wanted nothing more then to fall asleep in his arms. Forcing herself to stay awake, she spoke. "Will you train me, Daddy? I want to be as great as you!"

"You've never seen my fight." he replied with a chuckle.

"I know you're great, Daddy. Girls know these things."

Smiling, her Father sat up, letting her fall into her arms, and replied, "Oh yeah? Maybe I'll train you - you seem worthy." Akara smiled, changed positions so that she was lying across his lap on her back. She stared up at him and told him how much they looked alike. He, taking her remaining hand, began at its bindings and said to her, "I'm proud to call you my daughter, un."

The unstitching process went by quickly, but also wordlessly. Just as he was finishing, Akara felt a familiar Chakra and cursed, sitting upright. "Do you feel that? The Chakra..."

He looked up from her hand and paused. "I don't feel anything, un."

_It's bad, _she thought to herself, uneasily, _the Chakra I'm sensing...Mr.Uchiha?! _She gasped when she knew her assumption was true. _Shit!_

Just then, Sasori jumped down in front of them. "We're leaving - ANBU close behind." Akara and her Father jumped off, following along behind Sasori. She had flipped her pack behind her back, and her Father had taken the briefcase. They quickly jumped through the thick branches, careful not to leave too much Chakra behind. Akara's was the only one that would be easily detected - she didn't know how to control it, manipulate it, or disguise it other then with her art. And so, her Father had no choice but to carry her (leaving Sasori with the briefcase.)

The sun was high in the sky before a flash of pink from before a flash of pink from below caught her eye. Akara yelled at them to stop and wriggled out of her Father's grasp. She jumped back a few branches. There was no mistaking the pink-haired Uchiha that was slowly making her way through the forest, stumbling occasionally. Because of all the live things around her, she was unable to detect Akara as she hid within the trees. Sasori and her Father jumped back to her and looked down to what she was looking at. Akara clenched her fists and ground her teeth together for a minute before her composure broke. "Ita-danna!" She shouted as she jumped down to her.

Her shinyuu opened her eyes and looked over at the familiar voice. "Akara?" She asked, unsure.

"Yeah! I've been looking for you!"

"Alone?" She sounded nervous at the thought of a Leaf Villager along with her.

"No - I employed two Akatsuki." She motioned for them to reveal themselves.

"Akatsuki?" She repeated, looking to them as they revealed themselves.

"Yes: Sasori-danna on the right and Deidara-danna on the left." She clung to her Father at this.

"Deidara? Didn't you say - ?"

"Yeah! I found him!"

"Did he fix your hands?"

"Yeah!" Akara squeezed him tighter.

Ita smiled. "Congratulations. But, I have to get going." She began to walk away.

"Wait!" Akara yelled, and Ita paused. "You want to find the Akatsuki leader, right? Well, Daddy and Sasori-danna are bringing me there 'cause I was looking for you. You can come with us."

"Fine. But I have one question: did your Father repair both hands?"

"Not yet."

"When he does, I want to see how well you fair in combat." Ita smirked at her stunned Chakra.

"Y-you want to fight me?" She didn't bother trying to hide her surprised demeanor - she knew Ita well enough, anyway.

"Well, now that you've got your best techniques back, I want to see you_actually_fight. Now, shall we be going?" She turned back around and continued on.

"Coming!" Akara shouted as she happily followed after her shinyuu.

There was an air of suspicion around Ita as they jumped through the trees. A still silence fell between them for a moment before Ita broke it by saying, "Akara, how do I know you're telling the truth about those two men being Akatsuki?"

The question wasn't surprising. Of course Ita would be suspicious - she didn't have the ability to see them or the direction they were going in, and so the two 'Akatsuki' could've easily been ANBU. "You know I'm telling the truth, Ita-danna, because I've never lied to you." That was true; through all the time they had known one another, Akara had never once lies to her or even held a secret. Akara gently grabbed two of her fingers in her two. "Remember this? I've never lied to your or kept a secret from you. And I promise you, Ita-danna, that I'm not lying now."

Ita smiled. "You're not lying." Ita had learned to detect people's emotions through their Chakra, and no one could lie without her knowing. "Arigato, Akara. I know I can trust you." Their hands broke away from one another's, and Ita brought her hand to the stud embedded in her nose. She rubbed it, deep in thought. She stopped suddenly, leaning up against a tree. She swayed a bit. "Dizzy spell," she diagnosed herself. I've been having those a lot lately." She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked down. Akara held her up, worried. "You don't have to worry so much."

"Your nose is bleeding again." Her voice was downcast, almost dissapointed-sounding, even to her own ears.

"We're getting closer. The longer I travel in the right direction, the more it throbs and pulsates and stuff. I'm fine." She rubbed it roughly and looked up.

Her Father, panting, stopped alongside her, Sasori at his side. "They're still following us, un. We have to keep moving."

Both Akara and Ita nodded, jumping off again. "Are you sure you're okay, Ita-danna?" She asked again.

"I'll manage. It only gets worse from here, Akara. You have to be strong." Akara bit her lower lip, not liking the prospect of her shinyuu being in so much constant pain.

The sun was setting before Akara realized how slow she was going. Ita was about five trees ahead, her Father and Sasori one behind. _Ita had such a large stamina, _Akara thought warily. _How is she managing? How can someone our age be able to keep up so long? I've nearly reached my limit. I can hardly breathe - I won't last much longer. _Her breath came in raggad gasps. She lost her focus, and before she realized what was happening, she fell, missing the next branch. Her fingers brushed against the branch a little, jarring her into alertness. She screamed and closed her eyes. _Is this how it's going to end? _She thought weakly.

A hand grabbed her before she fell. A large, mouthed hand. "Akara, hold on!" Her Father's voice shouted, and she opened her eyes.

Panic rushed over her then. "Daddy, don't let go! Please, don't let go!"

"I'm not gonna let go, un."

She felt herself slipping in his grip and clamped her eyes shut, tears flowing freely. "Chichi, I'm slipping!"

"I gotcha! I'm not going to let you fall, un." She felt the mouths on his hands clench down on her wrist and cried out. "I've got you! I've got you, un!"

"Don't let go! Please, don't let go!" Akara cried. It seemed she was incapable of saying anything else.

The saliva from his mouths and the blood from where they had bitten into her collected to the point where she was slipping from his grasp no matter what. Her Father tried gripping harder, but to no avail. Screaming, her wrist completely slipped out of his grasp, and she was again falling. She screamed out, feeling the air on her back. She felt hopeless then, utterly hopeless. And scared.

Something warm clung onto her and maneuvered in the air. Akara opened her eyes, and saw a pink lock of hair hit her face. _Ita?_She asked herself. That was the last thing she remembered before they hit the ground.

* * *

**Note:**

**Chichi - Father  
Shinyuu - Best friend  
Sayonara - Goodbye, forever  
Hikari - Light  
Danna - Master  
Arigato - Thank you  
**


	4. Chapter 4: Shinyuu: Best Friends

**Chapter 4: Shinyuu: Best Friends**

What had to have been a few days later, Ita regained consciousness. Unwillingly, she opened her eyes. To her right was Akara, still unconscious. One of the Akatsuki was on her left. But...she couldn't use his Chakra to make him out at all. She _felt _that he was there - felt his presence - but couldn't see him at all. Usually, she could see a rough outline of a body filled in with the person's Chakra. But with this being, there was none. If he were to sneak up on her, she'd never 'see' him coming.

"So you're up. Took you long enough."

"W-why can't I see you?" She asked, feeling like an idiot.

"You're blind, aren't you?"

She knew that was coming. "That's not what I mean. Usually, I can see a person's Chakra and a rough outline of their body. But with you...I see nothing."

He laid his fingers on her bare arm and she knew instantly. "I'm a puppet. I changed my body years ago."

Ita nodded, much to her head's dismay. "I hate to put it this way, but that was very artistic of you." There was a silence, in which the Akatsuki - Sasori, she guessed - took his hand back. After a minute, she asked him, "How long have I been out?"

"Approximately three days. We've arrived at the base." She just realized her nose was burning like hell.

"Your leader...is he here?"

"No. We've contacted him, though, and he'll be arriving - along with the rest of us - in another few days, maybe sooner, depending on their eagerness."

_Eagerness? _She asked herself, but said instead, "Akara...How's she doing?" She managed to roll her head over to Akara's direction, nearly blacking out from the wave of dizziness that rushed over her.

"She'll be fine. Neither of you had more then a few broken bones." Ita, although her head was spinning, sat up and swung her legs over the said of the bed, facing Sasori. "What are you doing? The effect of the concussion and unconscious state won't have faded enough by now for you to - "

"I hate waiting," she cut him off, "and making people wait."

Sasori snickered. "We share the same impatience." He noted.

"A puppeteer and a blind girl. Boy, don't _we _make a good pair." The dizziness didn't help her attitude much.

"Can you walk?" Ita tried, and fell before she could take single step. "As expected." Sasori helped her back into bed, ordering her to stay and go back to sleep. "Sleep off the few days until Leader arrives - you'll need the strength. I'll bring you food every few hours. Are you hungry?" She was, but declined the offer. She laid back against the pillows and closed her eyes.

"Sasori-kun?" She called to him.

"Yes?"

"Tell me, because I have to know; what was your life like? I mean, why'd you join the Akatsuki?" He was silent for a moment before replying and beginning to tell his story. It seemed he was telling _everything_there was to know about him, leaving out nothing. His careless whisper of a voice lulled her, but she forced herself to stay awake and listen to his story. He seemed to actually enjoy telling his tragic past and she enjoyed listening. Only when he finished did she let herself fall asleep.

* * *

She woke a few hours later, feeling much better. Her head was much clearer, and she didn't get dizzy when she stood. Ita looked over to shoulder where Akara had been sleeping and found her still there. "Akara," she shouted, and Akara moaned a little. "Akara!" She called again, and her shinyuu moaned and rolled over.

"Someone call me?" She moaned as she slowly sat up, rubbing her left eye.

"C'mon, you've been asleep for three days now."

"What happened? And where are we?"

"We're at the Akatsuki base. And you fell off a branch, I jumped down to get you, and cushioned your fall."

"Ita-danna! Are you alright?"

"Are you?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Still a bit dizzy, though. I'll need another day's rest before doing anything serious." There was the tiniest air of jealousy resounding from Akara's Chakra, but Ita decided to ignore it.

"Let's go find Deidara and Sasori. Lead?" She asked, offering the pointer and middle fingers of her left hand. Akara took them with those on her left, happy again.

The two of them left the room and walked down a hallway taking. Over the years, Ita had learned to 'see' better by sending Chakra to her feet. It would run out to a circumference of about fifty feet, giving her a rough view of everything within her zone. This technique didn't work perfectly, but it was enough to keep from running into things. This usually worked best when she was the only living thing in the area. But when she was in a thick forest, the living foliage confused her, and she usually ended up tripping over something.

Deidara entered her radius then, coming closer. The three of them met eventually, and Akara shouted happily, "Chichi!" She ran up to him and hugged him.

He hugged her back and said, "Up already?"

"And _starving_!" She looked up to him, arms still tightly wrapped around him.

"Hungry? How about you, Ita-chan?" Ita's stomach growled painfully. She put her hand to it and nodded weakly. "Let's go get something to eat, then, un."

Akara returned to Ita and gently took her fingers again, guiding her. Eventually, Deidara led them to a large room with a very long table. Deidara told them to wait at the table, and left them.

"Ita-danna," Akara began as she pushed herself up and onto the table part of the table. Ita took a set to her right, sitting on the bench connected to the table. Ita looked up to her, and she continued, "What provoked you to come looking for the Akatsuki? What's been bothering you?"

Ita rubbed the stud in her nose, deep in thought. "The dreams had been getting worse; more realistic, more violent, more painful. It was getting to the point where I feared slumber. Mother and Father still refused to tell me anything, and I felt like I didn't belong - that in finding the Akatsuki and their leader, I would truly belong. I'd find my reason, and put an end to the stud's constant pains. One day, I just couldn't put up with the pain and ignorance anymore, so I left."

"I would've gone with you." She sounded hurt, and Ita hated when Akara was hurt.

"Why did you go with Deidara and Sasori?" She quickly changed the subject.

Akara's sunken heart sunk that much lower. "I commissioned them to help me find you."

"And how did you come across two S-class Akatsuki?"

"They were at my house. The morning you were found missing, I had gone to your house to pick you up as usual. When I got there and realized you weren't there, I ran back to my house and met them there."

"Where did you get the money to pay them?" This was quickly becoming an interrogation, and Akara's Chakra revealed she was feeling cornered.

"My Mother was an ANBU, and she had just gotten paid for her last mission from the day before. She was dead, so she didn't need it."

"Don't you feel some sort of remorse for loosing the woman that gave birth to you?"_Akara, of all people, should feel some sort of pain over death. This isn't like Akara to think so crudely. _She thought to herself.

"Am I supposed to?"

Deidara returned then, and Akara sat at the table normally; to Ita's available right. "I don't know what you guys like, so I just threw together some tea and ricecakes, un." He set the tray down and took a seat across from them.

"Thank you, Daddy!" Akara said as she took a ricecake and cup of tea. Ita took one as well, thinking to herself, _She shoves her emotions about her Mother in the closet and keeps it from popping out with false happiness. But it she really happy, or does she actually have some remorse for her Mother's death? _Ita sipped her tea and took a bite out of her ricecake, deep in thought. "You okay, Ita? You're real quiet all of a sudden."

"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking."

"Wanna train after? You can teach me taijutsu."

Ita sighed, dropped her head a little. "You're not planning on returning to Konoha, are you?"

"Why should I? I've got nothing left there."

"I know. But it's not safe here." She opened her eyes then, looking over her shoulder. A foreign Chakra had stepped into her radius - two, actually. One was_huge, _almost inhuman. But the other...the other was frightening to the point where Ita wanted to cry out and run and hide. That second Chakra had such a murderous intent, Ita feared both her and Akara's life. That Chakra thrived on murder and bloodshed. There was nothing more to it. Fear of death rushed through her for the first time in her life, and she felt this wouldn't be the last time she experienced such fright._These two Chakras, _she asked herself, _could they be Jinchuuriki? _She shuddered as the murderous Chakra approached.

"Deidara! Sasori!" The one with the massive Chakra shouted cheerfully. "Who's those two?" Ita's heart skipped a beat. Sasori had been at the table the whole time? She hadn't even noticed..."Deidara, that little blonde girl looks just like you! She could be your twin!" The large Chakra was behind them now.

"W-who are _you_?" Akara stuttered. She had a habit of doing that when she was scared. "You look familiar...Have we met before?"

Big Chakra chuckled. "I doubt it. I haven't been to my former village - Konoha - in...eight years."

"Umm..." Akara said as she fell into deep thought, holding her hand up to her chin as an artist would. She popped out of the stance suddenly, snapping her fingers, and saying, "I got it! You look just like Taru!"

"Who?"

"Uzumaki Taru. Only, he's got black hair and violet eyes. Byakuugan. The hair _shape_is like yours - spiky - but he let his grow out to his shoulders. But you've got the same facial expressions."

The big Chakra was stunned. "Did you say Uzumaki?"

Akara nodded. "Why?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. What's his Mother's name?"

"Uh, I think it's...um..."

"Hinata. Hyuuga Hinata." Ita finished for her.

"That's it! She's ANBU, too."

Ita broke in with a brusque change of subject. "Are you a Jinchuuriki?" She had closed her eyes and turned around to face Deidara again. "Your Chakra's huge."

Naruto nodded. "Kyuubi. You've got pink hair...Any relation to Haruno Sakura?" He and the murderous Chakra sat across from them, on Deidara's left.

"Haruno Sakura? No. But my Mother's Uchiha Sakura...Was Haruno her maiden name?"

Naruto nodded. "You remind me more of Sasuke, though."

"You know him?"

"We were teammates as chunin and lower. We were best friends, too..." As he slipped into thought, Ita shakily turned to the murderous Chakra.

"And who are you?" She tried to keep it as polite as possible - this being had the Chakra that could, and would, kill whenever it wanted.

"Gaara of the sand. Shukaku." _Blood-thirsty, _Ita thought to herself with a shiver. She took a sip of her tea. The warm liquid flowed down her throat and into her stomach, but did not warm her fear-chilled limbs. She gulped, staring down at the half-empy cup.

"Are you blind?" Naruto asked in a familiar bluntness.

"Why do you ask?"

"Last time I saw you, you were newborn. You were blind then. Are you still blind now?" Ita nodded, feeling awkward. "You really _do_take after Sasuke. Ita, right?" Ita nodded again.

"You really remind me of Taru." Akara broke in, as usual.

Naruto nodded. "I hope I met him before I die."

"You're so ready for it?" Akara asked him, surprised.

"It happens to everyone, doesn't it? Only, earlier for Jinchuurikis."

"Why?"

"Let's _not_, Naruto-danna." Deidara interjected. "I hate listening to you when you get like this, un." Ita stared at Naruto in curiosity, whereas Akara looked to her Father.

"Ita-danna?" Akara called to her softly, lying a hand on her arm. Ita looked over to her. "Before I left, Sugiyama spoke with me."

"So?"

"He knew. He knew how my Mother died, who the people beside me were, everything. I'm nervous he'll tell someone."

"Sugiyama's not the type to keep secrets for too long...He probably told Taru and Ishida, then..." Her head dropped onto the table in dismay. "Then my parents, who'll have reported to Tsunade. We'll have all of Konoha after us!" She wairly picked her head up and dropped it on the table again. Their tea cups jumped a little.

"Hmph! This is_Akatsuki _we're talking about. Everybody here's _already _an S-class cirminal in the bingo books. Besides, they've probably got bases _everywhere._"

Ita nodded feebly, then looked up suddenly and over her shoulder. "Wow, big group coming. About...six people." She analized the Chakras and gasped. "Four of them...No!" She dropped her head onto the table again, harder then before. "No, it's not true!" She had to force the tears back. She buried the fingers of her hands deep within her hair.

The people were visible to Akara then, because she gasped and said, "Mr. Uchiha?! And..." She groaned and dropped her head onto the table as well.

"Akara, Ita. You're okay?" Her Father asked as he approached and sat to Ita's left. Ita's face got hot and her eyes stung with tears. _Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry. _She repeated over and over in her mind. Her Father sat beside her, draped his arm over her shoulders, and pulled her close. She sniffled, leaned onto his warm body.

"Are you mad?" She asked quietly, fearing rage he had never shown before.

"No. I've done similar things before." His Chakra revealed he wasn't lying.

"Is Mother mad?"

"She's upset, worried. Not mad."

She didn't want to admit it in front of so many people, but she said it anyway. "Chichioya, I'm scared."

"I'll always be here for you. I promise." Ita snuggled up closer at his comforting words. She could've fallen asleep if they were anywhere else.

Deidara stood, picking up the used plates. Akara stood as well and followed after him as he left.

"How have you been, Ita-chan?" Taru asked as he sat beside her.

"Fine. We found your Father."

"Hmm?"

Ita pointed to Naruto. "Uzumaki Naruto. He's just like you." Taru moved to sit by Naruto's side.

Ishida, then Sugiyama, sat by her side next. _Why can't they just go away and leave me alone? _Ita thought to herself in annoyance. But, thankfully, they didn't say anything. Slowly, Ita's consciousness left her.

_**(Akara)**_

It was true Uchiha Ita was her best friend, but sometimes Akara was jealous of her. Ita, although blind, had never really suffered. She didn't know what it was like to have her own mother beat her because she was so intoxicated she thought her daughter was the enemy. She had no idea what it was like to have to spent an extra two hours of the morning covering cuts and bruises that were from her own Mother. Hell, Ita didn't even know what a drunken rage was. Yes, she had slept over her house numerous times, but she had been barricaded in Akara's room. She had never experienced the painful blows or felt the tearing stitches. The way Akara considered it, Ita had life easy.

Akara trudged after her Father, wanting to be with him. She needed someone who would truly know what she was feeling, and her Father was as close as she could get.

He brought her to the kitchen-like room where he had collected the plates and food and put the plates in a sink that was to the left. The counter top that the sink was connected to had nothing on the right side, so, as her Father turned the water on and began washing the plates, she hopped up onto it, dangling her legs over the side. She studied her hands in her lap, overlapping the fingers.

"What's wrong, Akara?" Her Father asked her.

"Hmm? Oh, just thinking, I guess."

"You seem troubled, un."

"Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Un?"

"What makes you an S-class criminal?"

"I used to be a terrorist-for-hire."

"And now?"

"I'm a member of the Akatsuki, un."

"Why?"

His face darkened. "I was forced."

"Forced?" She repeated, interested.

"At first I refused - I was doing fine on my own, un. After several refusals, they sent _him_to get me. He killed off my family and friends, making it look like I did it. I had no choice but to flee Iwagakure after that, un."

"Who did that?"

"The infamous clan-killer Uchiha Itachi himself. Sorry, but I hate Uchihas."

"I won't hold it against you." A silence fell before she said, "Do you miss them?"

"They're still with me, even though I can't see or feel them, un."

"Everybody thinks I've got emotional problems because I don't miss my Mother. Is that bad? Not missing her, I mean."

"After everything she put you through? No. I wouldn't miss her either, un." He turned the flowing water off and turned his back to her. She jumped off the counter top and followed after him.

Three more members had arrived while they were in the kitchen. One had silver hair, purple eyes, and wore a religious necklace. His Akatsuki cloak was open a bit, revealing a bare - and very muscular - chest. The second had as much skin covered as possible. Really, the only thing left visible was deep, evergreen eyes. The rest of his face was covered in a mask. The third, and scariest, Akatsuki to have arrived had a half-black, half-white face and a huge plant growing from his shoulders and up to about his height. He seemed interested in nothing, not speaking to anyone. Akara couldn't help but stare.

"Leader and Konan will be arriving shortly," the murderer of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Itachi, said to the rest of the Akatsuki, "we'll tie up my otouto and the brats so they won't get in the way." He bound Chakra strings around Mr. Uchiha, Sugiyama, Ishida, and Taru and threw them to the floor. Sugiyama, Ishida, and Taru wriggled around in their bindings, but Mr. Uchiha simply sat upright and glared at Itachi. Mr. Uchiha ordered them to stop, and they stopped. "What were you planning to accomplish with these brats anyway, Sasuke?"

"They followed me." Mr. Uchiha accused.

There was a murmur from Sugiyama. "Damn, this is troublesome..." He wriggled his arms, but to no avail.

"What about _her_?" Ishida snapped, nodded in Akara's direction.

Akara had plenty of retorts to snap back at him, but Itachi spoke before she had the chance. "Yamanaka Akara is under the protection of the Akatsuki; she paid us a considerable sum for the use of two of our members._You_, on the other hand, came seeking Uchiha Ita, and otherwise interfering with our plans. Naturally, Akara gets luxury." Akara stuck her tongue out at him. She had always hated the Hyuuga, and he had always hated her. There was nothing more to it then that.

She moved off to sit by a very guilty-looking Ita and sat beside her. She seemed to be experiencing waves of pain from the stud embedded in her nose - she was rubbing it and cursing under her breath. Akara laid her hand on Ita's arm and studied her, but Ita was in too much pain to notice.

A particularly bad wave of pain rushed through her and she cried out, "_He's_here!" Blood dripped down her face.

Panic rushed through Akara as she willed herself to look over her shoulder. Her heart almost stopped when she saw the Akatsuki leader and his blue-haired female partner walk to the table. The leader himself had spiky orange hair similar to Naruto's. Piercings riddled his face: six on the cartilage of his ears, one going straight through; two on his bottom lip; and two on the bridge of his nose. Upon looking closer, Akara noticed two studs in his nose were not only identical to Ita's, but his nose had room for one more - there was a hole from another stud. Akara shuddered. The stud in Ita's nose had originally been the leader's. Not good.

The blue-haired woman took a seat at the far end of the table where the leader stood. "Everyone here?" The words echoed through Akara's mind. "Good." Ita cried out and slammed her head onto the table, causing it bleed. Akara cried out her name, and the leader said, "Ah, yes. Uchiha Ita. That must hurt." For a moment, he made no notion to stop the pain. But then he formed the simple seal for Chakra, and Ita went from shouting in pain and holding her nose to panting heavily and lying her head on her arm as it rested on the table. "Step onto the table." Ita slowly obliged, seemingly fearing the pain's return. She looked down, gripping the bridge of her nose and clencing her eyes shut. She held one arm in the other and stood stoic. "Now that you all can see her, this is Uchiha Ita. The same you saw eight years ago when she'd just been born." Ita dropped her arms to her sides and, eyes still closed, looked straight to the leader. There were murmurs throughout the table. The leader spoke to Ita, "Do you know what you are, little Ita?" She didn't say anything, and so he continued, "You're a payment for your Mother and Father's debt. You've been property of the Akatsuki since the day you were born."

"Why am I so special? I've got no particular talents to speak of, and I'm blind."

"You've known loneliness all your life. You've never been identified as 'Ita' or even 'Uchiha Ita.' No, you're 'That blind girl.' You want more then anything to grow stronger and be truly identified, don't you? And you want knowledge. You want to know everything you've been denied. Little Ita, I've been inside your mind since day one - I know how you think and what you desire. Am I wrong?" Ita, seemingly interested, took a step towards him.

"Ita-danna, don't!" Akara jumped up, pounding her fists on the table. "This isn't you! No matter what he says, _I _know you, and this isn't you! You know what he looks like? Piercings. Two in the bridge of his nose - one's missing, _yours_ - _six _in both ears, bars going through them on each side and two pointed ones under his bottom lip. And his eyes? I _know _that look! He doesn't care about _you, _Ita-danna, he cares about your strength - he wants your power! What do you expect from him, anyway? He's not gonna give you anything."

Ita, fists clenched, looked down to her and said through gritted teeth, "He's the only one who can stop the pain for good. He's the only one that'll tell me what I want to know." She turned back to face the leader and took another half-step towards him.

Both anger and panic rushed through Akara then, and she didn't know which compelled her two step onto the table. "Is _that _your purpose for living? You've had such a normal, happy life, and you're just going to throw it all away?" Ita kept her back to her.

"You think being identified as 'the blind Uchiha' all your life is easy? You think getting lost in your own home because you can't see it is normal?"

"How about not being able to go home at all?" She shouted. "How about crying every night in your bed as you try and drown out the shouts from down the hall? How about being known as 'the freak with the mouths on her hands'? How about being beaten by your own Mother because she was so drunk she thought you were an enemy? You have _no_idea what it's like to feel _real_pain, _real _fear,_real _suffering!" Her voice cracked as the tears welled. When she didn't answer, Akara angrily turned her back, clenching her teeth and balling her fists. "You're pathetic, Ita." For once since the day they'd met, Akra didn't refer to Ita as 'Ita-danna.' It flinched at her morals and values, but she ignored it.

"Over the two years I've known you, Akara, you've become my best friend. You're the only person that can read me like an open book, and I you. If I've only learned one thing, it's this: People are needy; they need to be needed by others. It's because of this that people suffer - we suffer because of our bonds."

"Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder." Akara quoted her, clenching her fists tighter.

"Hmph." Ita quoted her. "You shouldn't cry over this."

"I'm not." Her voice cracked. She blinked, looking straight forward, and the tears rolled down her face. In all honesty, she was crying because she was so angry.

"If you want me to stay so bad, why don't you prove to me it's worth it?"

"Huh?"

"If you want me to come back, get stronger. Prove to me you're worth returning to." Although she was trying her hardest to keep her voice stoic, Akara could detect a small hint of hope. _Does Ita think she doesn't have a choice? _She asked herself. _Does she actually _want_me to try and do something to stop her? _

"Fine!" Akara shouted as she spun around on her heels, fist hitched back and ready to make contact.

What she hadn't expected was that Ita had been thinking along the same line, and had also spun around and planned on striking her. Both fists met each other's face. Both fell back a few feet from the other's blow. Both landed on their behinds, on their thighs, using their arms to keep themselves propped up. Ita cried out, grabbing at her heart. "What - ?"

"It's called_adrenaline. _It comes when you're super emotional. You'll get used to eventually." She turned to her Father. "Daddy, can we go somewhere?"

He nodded, stood, and asked Sasori if he wanted to come along. Sasori agreed, and the three of them left.

* * *

They brought her to a sort of training area at the very center of the base. It was very tranquil; to the west, a small lake, to the east opposite it was thick foliage, and meadow to the north and south. Akara soaked in the scene a bit before shoving her fists in her pockets and moving off to the north meadow. Once there, she sat among the flowers and laid back, staring up at the clouds as they lazily floated by. _People are needy; they need to be needed by others, _Ita's voice haunted her thoughts, _It's because of this that we suffer - we suffer because of our bonds. _

"We suffer because of our bonds." Akara whispered as her Father and Sasori sat beside her, on her left. "We suffer because of our bonds." She said it again, louder. _There was something behind Ita's words - another meaning she believed I could find, _Akara thought to herself. _She said that to sound tough, but put a secret meaning into her words, hoping I'd figure it out. She knows I search deeper then skin, so she knew I'd figure out what she was trying to tell me. _Akara gasped as realization hit. She bolted upright. "We suffer because of our bonds!" She shouted at her Father and Sasori, expecting them to realize what she had.

"What are you talking about, un?" Her Father asked her.

"Daddy, you lost everyone dear to you, right?" He seemed embarrassed, but nodded. "And Sasori-danna, you lost both your parents when you were young, right? Both of you were left alone and helpless...I've never known true parents; I've always been out on my own. But then I bonded with Ita, and I learned how good it feels to be relied on - to be needed. Ita's never denied the fact that she's needed me. 'We suffer because of our bonds'..." She gasped. "Me and Ita-danna are like sisters. She's suffering because of the bond she doesn't wanna have to break!" She shot to her feet and started to come back. She was almost halfway across the area before her muscles stopped cooperating. She fell to the ground suddenly, flat on her face. _What?_She thought to herself as she tried to will her muscles to move. But they refused.

She moved suddenly, back on her feet. But it wasn't _her _will that was moving the muscle; it was someone else's.

Her body walked back to the two Akatsuki, and she hated herself for not being able to control it. Sasori was the one ordering her to move, controlling her every movement. He had attached Chakra strings to her back, and thus able to control her movements. There was dirt on her face and hair in her mouth, and she would've done anything for the simple movements necessary to clean the dirt and hair away. She managed a scowl as Sasori forced her to sit beside he and her Father again. "Excuse me for being so intrusive." He said in his whisper-like voice.

Akara wanted more then anything to tell him to fuck off, but she bit her tongue. He was murderer, after all. So, instead, she went for, "Lemme go!" She tried to at least wriggle, but Sasori's hold on her was too powerful, too dominant. She again scowled at him.

"What were you talking about?" Sasori prodded.

Akara sighed. "Ita-danna doesn't _want _to leave, but believes there's no other option. 'We suffer because of our bonds.' In other words, she's suffering just as much as I ma. We're like sisters, her and I. And she knew I'd figure it out what she meant. She _wants _me to try and stop her. 'If you want me to come back, get stronger. Prove to me you're worth returning to.' She _wants _me to try and stop her!" Akara tried wriggling again, but still to no avail. She growled angrily.

"There's nothing you can do now - it's too late." Sasori told her, and her anger came to an abrupt halt. "Take her advice, and grow stronger. In due time, you'll be able to challenge her. But for now, you should train." Akara managed a sad nod, and Sasori released his hold on her. She hugged her knees close to her and sadly looked away.

"I'm not going to cry," she told them, adverting their gaze, "because I haven't lost her yet."

* * *

**Note: **

**Chichioya: Father**

**Chichi: Daddy **


	5. Chapter 5: Hidden Meanings

**32Chapter 5: Hidden Meanings**

Ita stood up after Akara's departed and turned to the Akatsuki leader. Fear still racked through her, but her desire for knowledge and removal of pain was enough to compell her into movement. She walked up to the leader, fighting down the pain and nausea the stud was bringing her. "I've decided." Her shaky voice echoed through the room.

"And?"

"Here is the best place to be." The loss of blood from the stud was beginning to take its toll on her. The dizziness overtook her and she began to fall forward. The last thing she felt was the leader's warm chest before all was black.

* * *

She awoke in another room lit with only one candle (she could see it's Chakra burning.) Upon flicking her finger against the bed she was lying on, she found the room to be connected with to others: One on the west wall (the bed she was on was at the east wall) and the other on the south. She guessed the one to the west led her out, so she carefully sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Ita rubbed her nose a little and found caked blood all over her face, neck, clothes, and pillow. Hesitating a bit, she stood and moved off to the west door.

Upon opening it and peering into the other room, she realized she was correct. The next room was furnished with a dexk and chair, and the Akatsuki leader himself. He had his back against the chair, facing the wall. "Ita. You've woken." It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

"I'm sorry I - "

He waved the apology away. "Take a seat." He waved to a seat across from his. Ita shakilly sat, waiting for him to speak. "The stud with bother you only when I want you or you're doing something you shouldn't be. The longer you ignore it, the more pain it will cause you."

"Can you remove it?" She highly doubted he would, judging on the explination he just gave.

"No. But I will talk."

_In other words, he'll tell me everything I want to know. _She thought excitedly. "Why didn't Mother or Father ever tell me anything?" She chose her first question.

He swivled around to face her. "I forced them not to. Otherwise, they'd regret it through your pain."

"Why me?"

"You're the firstborn, and also the payment. Your Mother and Father abandoned the Akatsuki eight months before you were born. They were indebted to us because of that, and you're their payment."

"But _why me?_ What's so special about me?"

"You're the heir of the Uchiha clan. You possess the same noble blood as your Father and uncle. You've got potential to be just as strong, reguardless of your lack of the Sharingan. You'll be a fine addition to this little organization."

"Now that you've got me, can I ask a favor?" There was no answer, so she continued, "Akara...You won't hurt her, right? 'You' as in 'the Akatsuki'."

"She's under our protection due to the amount of money she gave us. That's hardly a favor, you know."

"I'm getting to it. My friends and Father...what are you going to do with them?"

"We can't let them go, can we? They know how to get here, and they've seen the faces of the Akatsuki."

"Taru won't leave. Not now that he's found his Father. But Sugiyama and Ishida - both of their parents are ANBU. They'll come looking for them."

"I'm fully aware. However, their parents are also of the six ANBU that were present when I put that stud in your nose. They know how to act in silence, if they act at all."

"You won't hurt them, right?" She let they worry slip into her face.

"That would only cause trouble. We'll treat them well, if that's the favor you're asking."

"Not just that. Akara...don't make her go home." Memories of Akara's happy presence floated through her mand, and waves of guilt rushed over her. "Don't make her leave Deidara. Now that she's found him...I've never seen her so happy before." The simple thought of Akara being ripped away from Deidara almost made her cry.

"So long as she doesn't get in the way, I won't bother with her." Relief rushed over her then, and for a moment, all was silent. "I'll be training you," he said to her. She remained silent, unsure of what to say to that. "We'll start tomorrow. See me here."

"When?"

"I'll send for you. Now, leave me." He swiveled around in his chair. "It's the door behind you." He continued when she didn't more.

"Wait! My friends and Father - I'm guessing you've already put them in cells. Can you bring me to them?"

He pointed to his left. "Through that door. Follow the hallway."

Muttering an "Arigato," she followed his instructions. The hall she followed was long, but eventually she found the cells.

"Hey! I didn't notive that doorway was there before!" Ishida's voice shouted.

"You really are bli - Oh, sorry Ita, I forgot." That was Taru, of course.

"How long have you been here?"

"Only a few hours. Are you okay? You have blood all over you..." Taru's voice and Chakra was smothered with concern.

"Fine." Ita walked over to their cell, which was on the left side of the room. She sat at the middle, on her knees, gripping the bars. "How 'bout you guys? Are you all okay? Have they fed you?"

"We're fine, Ita-chan. No need to worry." Taru's comforting voice soothed her only slightly as she realized how silent and still Sugiyama and her Father were.

"Are Sugiyama and Father sleeping?" She tilted her head in curiosity.

"Yeah. Sugiyama's just lazy and your Father's tired himself out trying to get us outta here."

Ita shook her head. "Don't. Don't do anything to get them mad at you."

"Why?"

"I just spoke to the leader. They won't harm or torture you as long as you don't get in their way." There was an air of dissapointment around Taru. "Why do you seem so dissapointed?"

"You're really leaving, aren't you, Ita-chan?" His voice was soft and careful, but bore and blaming undertone.

"Why don't you stay with your Father?" Ita tried to lift the blame, "I bet he could - "

"It would break my Mother if I stayed. I _want _to, but I can't. She can't live without me."

"We suffer because of our bonds." She said softly, looking away from his face. "I'm sorry, but it must be done. This is what I'm meant to do."

Taru took her hand in his, gripping it gently.

The two of them sat like that for a long while before two people entered from another door; Deidara and Akara calmy strolled inside. Ita quickly took her hand back. "Ohiyo! I have breakfast for you!" Akara's voice echoed through the room. "Oh, hello, Ita-danna." Akara cooly approached and handed Taru four boxes of food, one by one.

"Danna still?" Ita asked her, almost warilly.

"Of course. You may choose to no longer associate with me, but you're still my danna." It was then, with a gasp, that Ita realized the bonds between Shinyuu were far too strong to break with simple words. She doubted there was anything that could break the bond forever - squish it under a heel and keep a steady hold on it. She was caugh in a hold, staring at Akara, eyes open in surprise. "It's rude to stare, you know." Akara said, breaking Ita out of her trance.

"Akara, I..." She looked away, hugged her knees close. "I regret it already." She laid her head on her knees weakly. For the first time in a very long time, she felt tears roll down her cheeks.

"People don't cry when they're sad," Akara answered, standing. "They cry when they're frustrated or overwhelemed. Which are you?"

"I'm frustrated." She decided almost instantly, wiping the tears away and looking up at Akara.

"What's frustrating you?" Although she was trying to make light of it, Ita could tell Akara was beginning to take interest, as though Ita had never said any of those cruel phrases to her only hours before.

"Myself." Ita gruffily replied as she laid her hand down on her knees again.

"Let's go for a walk." Akara said softly, offering her hand. Not the fingers as usual, but her whole hand. Ita wanted to study it before taking it, but knew better. She was barely standing before Akara started to run off. "C'mon, then! C'mon Chichi, let's go!" She ran off, pulling Ita along with her. _Good ol' Akara, _she thought to herself with a smile.

Akara brought her somewhere outside. The natural Chakra rushed over her, causing her skin to tingle. She inwardly sighed. The place was so comforting...Akara led her forward a little ways, then sat down. Ita ran the long blades of grass between her fingers, smiling a bit. "Meadow?" She asked Akara, digged her nails into the cool earth.

"Umhm. Wanna talk now?" One of the best things about Akara was that she was a good listener; she would listen to anything Ita had to tell her, and it would remain between the two of them, stored away in the back of her mind for later use. And if Ita decided to never bring the subject up again, Akara never mentioned it. She was like a diary with an unlimited amount of pages.

Ita nodded softly, running her hands over the broken up soil. "I hate myself for having hurt you. I've never wanted to do that - I've always wanted to protect you. I couldn't stand what your stepfather did to you, or how you suffered. Ever since I've known you, I've wanted to just hold in when you needed me and tell you it would be okay. I hate seeing you hurt; I was only trying to protect you before. I thought I could by pushing you away. I've only just realized how I've hurt you so, and I've never heated myself so much before." She adverted Akara's gaze.

"Ita-danna...I...didn't expect that." She was surprised; both her Chakra and voice revealed as much.

Ita wanted to chuckle, but didn't have the heart to. "What where you expecting?"

"I don't know...Just not that."

"Now what?"

"I don't know."

"Are you still angry with me?"

"I don't know."

"Would you like to be friends again?"

Again, the irritating words. "I don't know."

Exhasperated, Ita fell beack, lying on the ground. She sighed in content. "Nature is beautiful, isn't it? Even if I can't see it, I can still _feel _it. It always has a different fell, a different history...Real art, I suppose."

"What do you think of art, Ita-danna?" Akara asked as she lied down beside her. "I mean, what's your definition of it?"

"I believe art is something that lasts forever - beyond the creator's life. The creator is art himself, because though his art he lifves forever. Never forgotten. Always there. _That _is art."

"Hmm, I dunno," Akara considered deeply, folding her hands behind her head and staring up at the sky, "I've always believed that the best art is quick - flashed in front of your face for only an instant before it's gone again. I believe a true artist is one that can recognize that art just before it explodes."

"That's because that's your artistic vision. Your art is there one minute, gone the next. However, if I were gifted with sight, I would appreciate the ones that lived forever." She shrugged. "Everyone has their own views, I guess. You're entitled to your own."

"You're very wise, Ita-danna." Akaara observed with that same old admiration in her voice and Chakra. "To be honest, I didn't want to forgive you. I wanted to hate you and use the hate to grow stronger then you. But I can't."

Ita smirked. "You've never been the type to hold a grudge. Not for such a trivial reason, anyway."

Akara sighed. "And you still know me better then anyone else, Ita-danna. I've always admired your ability to read people."

"When a sense of perception is missing, the others become finer-tuned. Because I have no concept of vision, my other senses have been strengthened. It's not that hard to read people based on their emitions their Chakra puts out. Plus, I've been this way all my life. It's not like I had to get used to being blind."

"I still admire you. That's why you're my danna!"

Ita genuinely smiled. "That's why you're my shinyuu." She meant that wholly, from the heart.

"Ita-danna, I forgive you!" Akara happily broke. She forced a hug onto Ita. "Why bother staying angry, anyway?"

"That's the Akara I know." Ita said as she patted the Yamanaka's back.

"C'mon Ita, let's walk!" Akara jumped up, grabing Ita's pointer and middle fingers in her own, and started to run off. "I'll guide you!"

Ita sniffed the air, feeling a change of temperature on her skin. "Are there clouds overhead?"

"Yeah - completely covering the sun and sky."

"It's going to rain. I can smell it."

Akara sniffed as well, nodded. "Yeah. Guess we should go inside."

She began to walk away. Ita stopped her. "Akara...inside we can't still be friends."

"What?" She looked back to her, confused.

"Inside the Akatsuki headquarters, we can't let anyone know about this. What would they say after our little show?"

"But - "

"Akara, we just _can't. _But out here, we can be like sisters. Just not when anyone else is around. We can't make ourselves look like pathetic little kids, right? We have to look strong. When you pass through that door, you have to change your attitude completely. You understand, don't you?"

Akara nodded without hesitation. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Wanna stay here, then? I don't mind the rain."

"Wet? I don't like catching colds - it halts my training."

"There's a forest to our right. Real thick. The leaves will keep us dry." Ita nodded, and Akara brought her under the canopy of the forest. She settled Ita down against a tree and sat beside her. "So..." She let her voice drift off. There was a minute of silence before Akara perked up suddenly. "Hi Daddy! Hi Sasori-danna!" Ita vaguely looked at their direction as they sat across from the two of them.

"You two shouldn't stay out much longer," Sasori said as he looked up. "It's going to rain soon."

Sure enough, a deafening _crack _split across the sky, signaling the beginning of the storm. Akara's Chakra rushed over with fear, and in an instant, she was clinging tightly to Deidara. "I hate thunder!" She shouted, clinging tighter still.

"Why?" Ita asked her, genuinely confused. "Aren't they just like your art?"

"No!" Lightning cracked, and thunder followed. Deidara coughed, but Akara's grip on him did not loosen.

"Why not? How are they different? Quick, loud explosions. Isn't that you?"

"Don't say that," Akara groaned, lying her head on Deidara's arm. Deidara opened his cloak, wrapped it around her, and buckled it up again. SHe crawled up so that her head was sticking out of the collar-area as well and laid her head on his shoulder.

Ita sighed, wishing to change the subject. "We;re going to be stuck out her until it stops, aren't we?"

"My npdy has a low rain tolerance." Sasori told her.

"I _hate _waiting." She growled. Sasori moved to sit next to her, and they started a petty conversation between the four of them. And so the waiting period was spent.

* * *

_**(Akara)**_

"...Fireworks?" Ita asked. The pink-haired Uchiha had been trying to compare thunder to things Akara liked after their conversation with Sasori and her Father had died down. But, unlike their conversation, the rain continued.

"What?" Akara asked, looking over to her a little. She was comfortable under her Father's cloak, sharing the warmth with him. If not for the thunder, she could've fallen asleep.

"Fireworks. Thunder and lightning are just like fireworks."

"Fireworks are pretty. _They're _art. Thunder and lightning aren't."

Sasori was exhasperated by now. "Why do you bother, Ita? She's not going to change her mind, if she's anything like her Father."

"I just don't unde - " She stopped, slowly gasping in realization. "I got it! Both fireworks and your art are _controlled. _Thunder isn't. That's why you don't like thunder - you can't control it."

Realization dawned on Akara as well, and she knew Ita was right. She always was. But that wasn't the only reason. Thunder always reminded her of the worst fights she had heard, the most painful things she had endured. "That's not the only reason," she said to her Danna defiantly, but refused to give any more of an explination. Instead, she buried her head into the crook in her Father's neck. She gripped him as she had when she was falling out of the trees - as though her life depended on it. It felt good to have a relative to rely on. Her eyes fluttered, threatening sleep.

"The storm's dying off," Sasori noted, looking up. "won't last much longer." He was right - soon the thunder passed and the clouds began to pass. Akara, finally comforted, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

She awoke the next morning, still sharing the cloak with her Father. He had an arm draped over her, and she had snuggled up as close to him as possible. Whilst sleeping, Akara noticed her Father had a very peaceful and cherubis-like face. Akara studied him a moment, her mind peaceful. After a minute, she gently took a lock of his hair between her fingers and toyed with it. _We have the same hair color, _she thought to herself. _The only physical concept I retained from my Mother was her eye color. Otherwise, I'm his twin. _She was amazed at his dominant his genes were. _We even share the same artistic views. _She smiled at the similarity.

He stirred then, yawning and opening his visible eye. "Ohiyo, Akara. Sleep well?"

She nodded. "Very soundly. I'm hungry."

Her Father unbottoned the Akatsuki cloak and sat up. Taking it back and repositioning it on his shoulders, he buttoned it up again, sitting up and stretching. "Me too, un. Shall we go see what's for breakfast?" Akara nodded in happy agreement, and they set off.

Sasori and Ita was already there, engaged in light conversation. Akara sat beside Ita, her Father across from her, beside Sasori. "Oh, ohiyo Akara, Deidara," she paused, then sighed and said, "I have to see the leader soon."

"What are you waiting for?" Akara asked her.

"He said I should eat first, and that he'd send someone to get me."

"You seem nervous." As much as her danna could read her, she could read her danna.

"Any reason I shouldn't be?"

Akara had no answer to that. Instead, she turned to her Father and said, "We're starting my training today, too, right?" He gave a firm and happy "Un." as an answer, and excitement rushed over her.

That mysterious Gaara figure joined them then, sitting on Sasori's right. His blonde partner, Uzumaki Naruto, showed up as well and sat on _his _right. "You seem familiar, Gaara-danna," Akara began, thinking, "Who do you remind me of?" SHe buried her face in her hands, deep in thought. Ishida's mom, Tenten? No. Taru's mom, Hinata? No. Sugiyama's mom, Temari? Akara shot her head up at this, studying Gaara. There wasn't much of a similarity between the two, but both had the same pale, lucid skin..."That's it! You look just like Sugiyama's mother! Her name's Temari, and she's from Suna. Do you know her?"

The Jinchuuriki didn't seem fazed with her connection. "She's my sister." He answered dismally, as though it was no sort of connection at all. Akara just nodded, unable to think of anything to say.

Uchiha Itachi appeared just then, being followed by a tall shark-like man. The Uchiha took a seat to Ita's left, and his fishy partner sat to his left. Ita looked up to her ojiisan almost proudly. "Ohiyo." She said to him, still looking up at him.

She was barely acknowledged. "Hn."

"I know who you are."

"Who doesn't?" Well, he wasn't a very modest Clan Killer, was he?

"You have a Chakra very similar to my Father's," she plowed on. His ring finger twitched.

"I'm nothing like Sasuke." He finally acknowledged her, looking down on her.

She shook her head. "You're right, but all Uchihas have a similar Chakra. However, they're still entirely different from each other's. Your's is strong, muderous, and stoic. My Father's is strong, vengeful, and forever changing. So yes, you have nothing in common, but you're both very similar."

"The child thinks she knows something!" The shark-man noted.

"Hmph!" Akara replied, causing everyone present to look her way. "Ita-danna's got the highest grades in my class. Her specialty is reading people - no one has gotten away with a lie yet."

"And who are you to claim such things, blondie?"

Akara looked to Ita, who was stoic, and back to the fish-man. "Her rival." She answered smartly.

Fishy opened his mouth to reply, but Itachi stopped him. "Enough, Kisame. Do not try the minds of the young. It brings you no satisfaction."

Two more Akatsuki showed up then - the silver haired and purple-eyed ex-Rain nin and his very-well covered-up ex-Waterfall nin. The silvery-haired nin cursed loudly and sat beside Naruto. His partner sat across from him, beside the shark-man, Kisame. "Why the fuck is it so quiet?" He asked profusely.

"There are girls here, Hidan." His partner reminded him.

"Why the hell should I care? Like two fuckin' kids are gonna stop me."

His partner sighed. "Excuse him." He said to Akara and Ita, vaguely looking in their direction. "He's always like this." He seemed to be ashamed by Hidan's arrogant profanity.

Akara shrugged. "I've heard worse, out on the streets."

"Streets?" Ita repeated, braking herself out of her Itachi-induced trance.

"You know how I hated going home. I found other things to do; before I met you." Ita opened her eyes and studied her a moment, then looked away, closing her eyes again and ending the conversation.

A pretty woman with blue hair, blue eyes, and a white rose in her hair approached and spoke. "Ita-chan, Pein requests you." Ita nodded without hesitation and stood, following after her as she walked away.

"Who was that?" Akara asked her Father.

"Leader's partner, Konon, un." Akara studied Konan's back until she could no longer see her. "Well, let's go, un." He continued, standing. Akara eagerly followed after him.

* * *

He brought her to the training grounds she had been to before. She sighed with relief, loving the feeling of the raw nature all around her. "What are we gonna do first, Chichi?"

"Our art requires Chakra focus. You should prefect that above anything else, un. Can you climb up trees without using your hands?"

They were interrupted, then, by the arrival of Leader and Ita. "Hello, Deidara." Leader said to him as he approached with Ita. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to begin Akara's training, un. Tree climbing."

"Chakra focus, eh?" Leader looked down to a very nervous Ita. "Yes, that seems a good place to begin."

"Why do I need to focus Chakra, sir? I do that everyday."

"To your feet. You need to learn to focus your Chakra to other areas when nessecary. That's why, unlike Akara, you'll be climbing the tree with your hands."

Ita groaned lightly and approached a very tall tree. She opened her eyes, tried looking up to the very top. Akara picked a tree of similar height beside Ita's and warily looked up to it. The top blocked out the sun. "The first thing you need to do is focus your Chakra to the feet. When you're ready, run up the tree and mark it with this Kunai," -he gave her one--"when you feel yourself slipping. Keep going as long as you can, un." Akara, without breaking her eyes glue to the tree, nodded. She stepped back and formed the seal for Chakra, clenching her eyes shut. Slowly, she felt her Chakra leave its normal trail around her body and collect at her feet. She was tempted to run at the tree then, but knew her Chakra wasn't fully collected yet.

She was loosing track of everything around her. All she saw was the Chakra gathering to her feet - a pale yellow pool of substance that flowed like liquid, but moved like smoke. So her Chakra was yellow...

Akara felt it just then. The signal that all her Chakra was collected at her feet. Her eyes shot open, and she ran towards the tree, her Chakra quickening her pace. She made it about a quarter of the way up before she felt herself slipping. Quickly, she sliced her Kunai across the bark of the tree and pushed off it. Maneuvering through the air, she managed to land on her feet, crouching low to the ground and holding herself up with her left hand. Panting she looked up at the tree. _Damn, this is harder then I'd imagined, _she thought to herself. Risking a glance over to Ita, she gasped as she realized that the Uchiha had made it much higher up the tree - almost a third of the way up. Ita began to slip, however, and, quickly marking the spot with a Kunai she held in her mouth, she - almost gracefully - pushed off the tree, maneuvering through the air with a lioness' grace. She landed facing away from Akara, her right leg hitting the ground first. Ita's left leg followed, and, when her body was close to the ground, her left arm. Akara watched her warily, her confidence wavering. "Tired already, Akara?" Ita panted.

"Not at all, Ita-danna." Akara tried to keep her voice steady, but couldn't help but allow the pants through.

"Then let's have a see." Ita still had her eyes open.

"Alright, then." Akara stood and ran toward the tree, gripping her Kunai tightly. _This is bad, _she thought, _I didn't charge my Chakra enough - I won't get much higher. _She quickly ordered her Chakra to her feet as the tree neared.

Much to her surprise, she managed to last a little longer then before. Happily scratching her new mark, Akara pushed against the tree, maneuvering through the air and leanding on her feet. She smirked at the progress.

"You took the tree dead-on without needing to gather Chakra to your feet beforehand. Impressive," Ita noted, "However, you were nervous and weren't concentraiting; your Chakra was bouncing around everywhere. If you had held your focus and composure, you probably would've made it up higher." Ita backed up a little, then got onto her hands. "Like so." She took off, running on her hands as fast as Akara could run on her feet. Akara watched in awe as Ita breached another foot of the tree. The Uchiha pushed back and returned to Akara's side in an instant. "Like so." She repeated. Then, "You shouldn't be so amazed at such trivial things."

Anger boiled within Akara. She growled, turned to her tree, and ran towards it, this time not allowing her conscious to stray from moving her Chakra to her feet.

She lost control two feet higher then Ita's mark. _Good, _she praised herself, _an improvement. _Akara stared up at her tree just then. _But not enough. Our trees are about fifty-feet tall. I've only cleared about ten. _Fueled by this, Akara ran toward the tree again, this time filled with determination. She found that simple emotion was able to get her another foot higher. She was getting there. Slowly, but she was definately getting there.

The two of them continued on with their training until the sun began to set. They drove both themselves and one another to their limits - they stopped only because they didn't have enough Chakra to continue. "Your training will not continue until you scale your tree." Leader said to them. "But I can see you've expended your Chakra. Tomorrow we shall continue." Ita nodded and followed after him warilly as he walked away.

Akara, who had collapsed onto the ground and was blankly staring up at the sky, groaned as her Father helped her to her feet. "I'll get it tomorrow!" She told her Father as he gripped her hand in his and helped her along.

"I'm sure you will, un. You're very strong."

SHe smiled at this, but said, "I'm still not a challenge for Ita-danna." But in her mind, she thought, _Hell yeah! I'll be as strong as Chichi one day! _She felt a rush of determination wash over her.

"You will, un." Her Father said in a determined voice. All fell silent between them.

* * *

_**(Sasuke)**_

It had been two days since he, Taru, Sugiyama, and Ishida had been captured by Itachi and Kisame and locked in the cell. Two days since he had been able to move around freely and without restriction. Although he was but a mere twenty-three years of age, his joints had stiffened due to the lack of movement. His heart ached for Ita, Mishu, and Sakura. His eyes longed for their sight, his chest for their hugs. He had never missed something so much.

The three boys with him remained strong, but he knew they'd broke long ago. They never cried or complained, but usually held a sad tone to their voice. The little they were given to eat was never enough, and the little room they had to move was never big enough. Sasuke was beginning to doubt they would ever leave until Itachi showed up. He silently and paitently stared at the four of them and Sasuke, growing impatient, said to him, "What do you want, nii-san?"

There was an uproar from the three bugs. "Nii-san?!" Ishida shouted.

"Older brother?!" Sugiyama translated.

"No way!" Taru denied.

"Yeah - He's got the Sharingan!" Sugiyama replied, pointed to Itachi's eyes. There was a group "Wow," and they all fell silent.

Itachi took the oppertunity to speak and said, "Leader's being unusually lenient today. Perhaps it's because he's got Ita-chan exactly where he wants her."

There was another uproar - this time from Taru mostly. He jumped up and flew towards the bars imprisioning them. Before he could reach them, however, Sasuke had jumped and grabbed his arms behind him. "Ita-chan would _never _join you!" He shouted, wriggling under Sasuke's grasp.

"Oh?" Itachi said, teasing him. "She already has. She seemed to enjoy her training with Leader today."

Taru kicked out his legs in defiance, but Sasuke had lifted him off the ground. "Let him speak, Taru." Sasuke said to him. "Uchiha Itachi doesn't do something without a reason." Taru wriggled under his grasp a little more, but fell silent.

"Thank you, Sasuke." Itachi said dryly. "As I was saying, Leader's decided to be lenient with you. He's instructed me to bring the four of you to the meeting table and let you eat."

"And why would he be so kind?" _Itachi doesn't lie, _Sasuke reminded himself, _He doesn't always tell the straight truth, but he's never flat-out lied; he knows how to manipulate his words. _

"Most likely because he knows he's won a most prized possession." Taru squirmed again, but Sasuke held firm.

"We could use the movement."

"First," Itachi said as he removed his necklace, "put this on."

Sasuke put Taru to his side and took a step forward. Itachi slipped his arms through the bars and over Sasuke's shoulders, clipping the necklace around his neck. Sasuke shuddered involuntarily at Itachi's touch. Immediately after clipping the necklace on, Sasuke felt most of his Chakra being drained by it. "How much Chakra is this going to take from me?"

"As much as you need to activate your Sharingan. As for them," Itachi erected Chakra strings around the boys, binding them together by their wrists. "they'll stay together. Now," Itachi opened the gate, "come."

Itachi led them to the meeting trouble where Deidara, Sasori, Akara, and Ita were sitting. On the far side, Sasori was at the end, followed by Dedaira (on his left) and Akara on Dediara's left. Ita was directly across from Sasori. Both Ita and Akara had their heads buried in their arms on the table.

"Ita-chan!" Taru and Ishida shouted, running over to her. Sugiyama cursed, being dragged along by the two Hyuugas.

"Hey, slow down!" Sugiyama yelled, trying to keep his face from scraping against the floor as he was dragged along.

"If you ran a little faster, you wouldn't have fallen!" Ishida yelled.

They made it to Ita's saide, where Taru and Ishida fought for the first glance. "Hi, Ita-chan!" Taru said to her.

"Hey, I saw her first! Ohiyo, Ita-chan!" Ishida shouted as he pushed Taru aside.

"What are you talking about? I saw her first!" Taru objected as he pushed Ishida.

Ishida pushed Taru, and so the fight progressed. Sugiyama, who had just accomplished the task of getting back onto his feet, shouted, "Damn it!" as Taru and Ishida's fight brought him to the ground again. "Damn it, why do you two always have to fight?! It's so troublesome..."

"Shut up, Sugiyama!" Taru and Ishida shouted in unison.

Ita warilly lifted her head and looked over to them. All fighting and shouting stopped for a few seconds. "Ita-chan's looking at me!" Ishida said hapilly.

"No, she's looking at me!" Taru objected, and the fight resumed.

Ita groaned in annoyance and let her head drop onto the table with a loud _thud. _This fighting continued, and she picked her head up again and shouted, "Enough! I don't want to hear your fighting! You're giving me a headache." She sighed at the silence and rubbed her temples. "Ah, silence is golden..."

"But duct tape is silver." Akara said as Taru and Ishida began fighting over whose fault it was.

"Good idea. Would you happen to have some?"

"I have clay."

"Good enough." The two of them took come clay from Akara's pack and thinned it out into strands no thicker then an inch. Ita added chakra strings along the ropes, and the two of them tied them around the three boys, dragging them onto the table. "Hmm...This work of art is missing something. What do you think, Akara?"

Akara brought her hand up to her face, holding her chinlike Deidara. She looked to the upper right-hand corner of her vision in thought. She snapped her fingers when a thought came to her. "Got it! We haven't _scared _them enough yet."

"Scare them? I think we should." Ita agreed with a nod. Ishida, who was tied to Taru's back, and therefore facing Akara, widdened his eyes and tried wriggling free.

"Leave it to me, Ita-danna!" Akara replied happily. She bent down to Ishida's vision level (she and Ita had been standing above their tied victims on the table) and smirked, forming the seal for Chakra. "See this clay, Ishida-teme? It's explosive." If possible, his eyes widdened more. He wriggled in his bonds, but all held firm. "All I have to do is add a little of my Chakra and..."

"BOOM!" Ita shouted in his ear, causing him to cry out underneath the clay covering his mouth and jump a little. Both girls giggled in triumph and high-fived one another. Ita looked over suddenly. "There's a lot of people coming."

"Who?"

Ita tapped her foot on the table, she shook her head, and jumped down to the floor. She tapped her foot again and replied, "So many...I can't discern them all...But one is my Mother and another my brother. Why brother bringing a two-year-old?"

A very cheerful two-year-old came into view then, a miror reflection of Sasuke. He held his hand up high and waved. "Ohiyo!" The youngest Uchiha ran over to Sasuke, shouting, "Chichioya!" Sasuke waited for his son and smiled. Mishu ran up to him and held his arms out, expecting Sasuke to pick him up. He did so happily and set Mishu on the table. "Chichi, do you have a toymatoe?" He spoke so quickly he stumbled over his words, and all Sasuke really understood was 'chichi' and 'tomato,' although Mishu's youth mispronounced them.

"Do I have a tomato?" Sasuke repeated, checking.

"Jea." Was that supposed to be a 'Yeah'?

"No, I don't have any."

"I wanna tomato!" Mishu pointed, looking around. _Such a cute kid, _Sasuke thought with a small smile.

"Quit your whining, brat." Ita said to him, standing beside him on the table.

"Ita-onee-chan!" Mishu shouted happily, shooting onto his feet quicker and quick and grabbing tightly onto Ita. "Where were you? You were gone foreva!"

"Here." Ita changed the subject, handing him a large, overly-ripe tomato that had to have been the size of Sasuke's fist.

Mishu cheered and ripped the tomato out of her hands. He greedily bit into it and said to her, "Arigato, Ita-onee-chan!" The tomato juice dribbled down form the corners of his mouth, and he attempted to slurp it back into his mouth, but to no avail. He ignored the juice and happily took another bite.

"Hmph!" Akara said playfully, crossing her arms in fake jealousy. "What, no 'Ohiyo Akara'?"

Mishu, wide-eyed, turned and saw Akara sitting beside Deidara, arms crossed, aparrently mad. "Akara-sama!" He happily forced a hug with her from his place on the table.

"Ohiyo, Mishu!" Akara shouted happily, hugging him back.

"Wanna bit offa my toemato?" Mishu asked, proudly holding it out to her.

Akara took it from him and took a big bite. "Arigato!" She said with a smile as she handed the tomato back to him. "It's very juicy, isn't it?"

"Hn!" He happily bit into it again, directly where Akara had.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called from behind. Sasuke looked over just in time to see Sakura come over and force a hug with him. Her warmth on his was heaven. He had no idea how much he had missed her until just then. "I missed you so much!" She voiced his thoughts.

"I missed you too." He replied, wrapping his arms around her. She smelled so much better now...

Next to appear was Shikamaru and Temari. "Sugiyama!" Temari shouted as she ran over to her still-tied up son and his friends. "What happened?" Sge asked as she untied the many bonds tieing him to the two Hyuugas. Itachi relinquished his Chakra hold on them.

"_Those _two started fighting," Sugiyama accused, shooting them a glare.

"In my defense," Taru began, standing on the table and rubbing his wrists, "I hate him."

"Ooh, what a just reason." Ishida replied in a sardonic tone. "All from the Main Branch are exempt from the rules, ne?"

Taru rolled his eyes. "And all of the Cadet Branch are _ignorant _to the rules."

"As the Main Family is left ignorant to proper training."

"Are you saying I'm weak?"

"If you need to think about that, you're definitely weak somewhere." Taru angrilly shoved Ishida, Ishida stumbled back a bit and replied with a tougher shove. The fight progressed.

An exhasperated Akara dropped her head onto the table with a loud thus and an "_Ugh!_" of annoyance. "Shut _up_!" She yelled at them, but they were impervious to her voice due to their shouting.

Taru grabbed Ishida and swung, hitting him squarely in the crook of his neck. Ishida cried out and flung Taru off him who, arms flailing, landed a punch directly on Mishu's face as he tried to land smoother. Mishu broke out in a fit of crying at the pain; his tomato went flying as his arms flew up. Sobbing, he ran to Sakura, who comrofted him, kissing his boo-boo and telling him he'd be alright.

Ita, quicker then anything, grabbed the cuff of Taru's shirt and pulled his face close to hers. Her eyes were open in fury, anger emblazoned on her face. "Why is my otouto crying?" She asked, teeth clenched.

Taru gaped at her, mouth ajar, seemingly at a loss for words. "I didn't mean to - "

"But you did." Ita cut him off, scathing.

"I-I'm sorry." Sasuke guessed Taru had never seen such an angry side of Ita.

Ita's grip on his shirt tightened - for a minute it appeared she was going to strike him. But then she looked away and shoved him back using the hand she had to hold him. Taru fell back in surprise, looking up to her in fright. "You're lucky I don't find you annoying. _No more fighting._" She added, putting a threatening to to each word. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Taru answered instantly, his voice shaking.

"And _you, _Ishida," Ita turned to face him. He looked as though he was about to pee in his pants. Ita must've picked up on this, because she shook her head and looked away. _Ita is so much like Itachi, _Sasuke thought, _but, thankfully, they don't share exactly rhe same thoughts. _Ita turned to Mishu and asked, "What happened, Mishu?"

"He ran into me and I lost my toymato!" Mishu's hysteria altered his already-mushed-together sentences into something that didn't even sound human, let alone English.

Sasuke could hardly understand the second-born when he was happy, and now he sounded like some sort of alien from another planet. But somehow, Ita had always been able to understand what he was saying. "Mean ol' Taru made you drop your tomato?" She asked softly, bending down to his eye level. Mishu nodded. "Want another one?" Mishu happily nodded, and Ita turned to Akara and Deidara and asked, "Could one of you get him a tomato?"

"Un." Deidara said with a nod as he stood. Akara went along with him.

"I wanna go with Akara-sama!" Mishu whined.

"Then go." And he was off.

Ita sat on the table, one leg folded under her. She looked down at the table, eyes closed again, and rested her face in her palm. "Something wrong?" Sasuke asked her, and she looked over a little.

"Hmm? No. Just thinking."

"What about? You seem troubled." And she was.

"I'm not leaving with you." Ita blurted, opening her eyes and looking straight at him. "I've already agreed with the leader. He's training me."

Sasuke nodded, understanding completely now. "That's why he's letting us go and allowed Sakura and the other five ANBU around us to come and get their chibis. He's got what he wants."

Sakura was tearing. "Why are you giving in so easily, Ita? That's not like you." She sniffed and wiped a tear away.

Ita rubbed the stud in her nose. "I'm tired of living with the pain this brings. It's easier this way. No pain, no nightmares...I'm almost normal."

"Everyone of the Akatsuki are S-class criminals," she countered weakly.

"Why aren't you two classified as such?"

"Because I've never killed anyone."

"But you were a member." Sakura fell silent.

Deidara and Akara returned then, with Mishu in tow. Mishu happily ran over to Ita, proudly showing her his tomato. He thanked her and took a big bite out of it, completely ignoring the juice that ran down the corners of his mouth.

Taru and Ishida's parents came then, as Shikamaru and Temari left with Sugiyama. They stopped to give small hellos to the Uchihas, then departed.

When all was quiet for a moment, Ita looked to Akara and said, "You're leaving, too, right?"

"I have no reason to return to Konoha."

"But you're going back."

"Who says?"

"I do."

"Hmph! I'm not leaving Chichi now! I just found him!"

"But what can you do here besides get in the way? Leave and come back when you're strong enough to hold your own."

"I've held my own all my life."

"In combat?"

Akara's lip curled in anger. "Who are you to stop me? I _paid _this organization millions of yen! I've got completel control of what I want and don't want to do."

"Not exactly." The voice of Pein contradicted her as he appeared at the head of the table. "According to Kakuzu, you paid us exactly five thousand yen. That's enough to comission two of our members for a B-ranked mission. Sasori and Deidara have completed that mission as required - to find Ita and your Father. Both tasks have been compleated, and your conditions have been met; you've been sheltered, fed, and protected. Everything you requested in your verbal agreement has been fulfilled. Now you leave."

Akara paled. "But...I...You..." She couldn't pull her words together. She went firm suddenly and replied, "Fine. I'll go."

Pein nodded. "You, Sasuke, Sakura, and Mishu have five minutes." He left them.

Akara held firm for about two seconds before her bottom lip started quivering. Not long after, she burst into tears, clinging to Deidara's arm as though her life depended on it. "Daddy, I don't wanna go!" She wailed, burying her face in his arm, distressed. Sasuke silently got out of his seat and scrept behind Akara. He gave Deidara a signal, but Deidara motioned for him to wait.

Deidara leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I'll come back for you, un." He nodded, and Sasuke used his pointer and middle fingers to jab her at a sensitive point, not very lightly. She was out instantly. Deidara gently laid her head on the table and pulled the tie out of his hair, gently tying hers up with it. When he was finished, he carefully handed Akara off to Sasuke, who carefully took the unconscious Yamanaka. Sasuke threw Itachi his necklace and nodded to Sakura, who took Mishu into her arms. The two of them left the Akatsuki, and their eldest daughter, behind.

* * *

Hours later, as dawn spread across the horizon, Sasuke kicked in the door of his home and warily entered. He and Sakura brought Akara and Mishu to Ita's room (which harbored Mishu's crib) and, laying Akara on Ita's bed, instructed Mishu to stay quiet and remain in his room with Akara. He agreed without dissent.

Sasuke followed Sakura to their room. Eight years of residing in the house had proved useful; Sakura knew the place's layout as well as he did. Pushing open their door, Sakura all but dragged Sasuke along behind her. She plopped down on their bed, sitting on her left calf. Sasuke sat beside her, draping an arm over her shoulders. "You know," he began, nibbling her earlobe, "I haven't tasted you in a long time. Not even a kiss." He moved to her neck and nibbled on her jugluar, being rewarded with a small moan from Sakura.

"Sasuke, I don't think we should - "

Sasuke cut her off as he planted a kiss on her lips, nibbling her lower lip, begging her for entrance. She gave it to him, and he rushed inside, using his tongue to explore the insides of her mouth. Hers went inside his, and Sasuke felt both the heat of the room and his pants increase. He gunted, getting his hands loose to freely caress her hips, then crept up her shirt, caressing her breasts and nipples. She moaned, sent her own hands up his shirt to feel his chest, allowing her fingers to circle around his nipples.

They stopped only to remove one another's shirts, then connected again. Sasuke gently pushed Sakura onto her back. She allowed him to, ruffling one hand in his hair and using the other to dip its fingers over the brim of his pants, her nails brushing up against his most sensitive point. Sasuke moaned loudly in her mouth and grabbed her wrist, bringing it down lower. She obliged, pully inserting her hand down his pants, stroking and pumping his semi-erect member.

Sasuke's hands headed straight to her pants, expertly unbottoning them and pulling them off her, throwing them to the side. Her underwear followed, then both of his layers. He brought his fingers down and scissored her open, using others to massage her a little. She half-grunted, half-squeaked in response, whish only aroused him more. When he was satisfied with her, he gave her his fingers, commanding her to suck. Sasuke was happy to find she complied with sucking and lolling of her tongue, which excited him further.

When he could stand it no longer, Sasuke hitched Sakura's legs over his shoulders and slammed into her. She cried out happily, needfully wrapping her hands around his back. He pulled back a bit, slamming into her again. Sakura cried out his name, clinging to him tighter. She was reaching her limit...

Sasuke released his seed just as she reashed her limit. Pulling out of her, Sasuke slammed into her one final time before both collapsed.

* * *

**Note: **

**otouto: little brother**

**arigato: thank you**

**ojiisan: uncle**

**chichi: daddy**

**chichioya: father **

**ohiyo: good morning **

**Tomato, when Mishu spoke of it, was spelled wrong on purpose. **


	6. Chapter 6: Six Years Later

**Chapter 6: Six Years Later**

Akara had moved out of the Uchiha Manor the very first day she found herself in it. She didn't like the thought of being alone, but she couldn't stand the poorly-masked auras of murder, hate, and betrayal filling the place. She couldn't stand the thought of sleeping in Ita's bed, either. What was she but a replacement for Ita? So, after hours of long debate with both the Uchihas and the Fifth, an agreement was made. Akara would live in her old home and be funded by both the Hokage and the Uchihas undtil she graduated from the Academy and was able to support herself. She would live on her own, uninterferre, and worry about nothing but her training. And so she had. Fueled by the want to return to her Father and revenge herself against Ita, Akara trained for six years, undeterred by the fact that everyone of Konoha, save for the Uchihas, hated her. If anything, that made her will to train greater.

She had lost her companionship with Taru and Sugiyama. They stopped talking to her and avoided her like she was sick. It didn't matter. She didn't need anyone; when she was old enough, and strong enough, she would return to her Father, fight Ita, and prove herself worthy of living with her Father, and maybe even serving the Akatsuki. She didn't need anyone beside her to achieve these goals.

As alone as she was for the next year after her return, she was not depressed. If anything, she was content. There was no one to bother her when she wanted to be alone, no one to criticize her art. She was able to train as long as she wanted, and could do whatever she wanted. There was no one to stop her. As long as she didn't bother anyone, she had no restrictions.

She made new friends, on the streets at night. They day would might've hated her, but the people of the night accepted her. They were just as freakish-lloking and terrible as the Akatsuki, but they accepted her. She kept her hands gloved, however - they were a masterpiece Konoha didn't need to worry about. Her popularity in the night-Konoha grew, and she formed her own gang, calling it the "Iwate" or "Stone Hand." What provoked her to call it this? She wasn't sure. Maybe because ever member of her gang could hit hard. Either way, she was the leader of a quickly-growing gang. It was the punk version of the Akatsuki in every way - there were nine members, some from different lands, all with their own individual and artistic skills. Each member had a partner to which they opperated missions with (they were all above leagal employment age,) save for herself. All eight of her workers followed her dilligently, their one goal to join the Akatsuki in some way. Once her eight 'friends' learned she was headed for the Akatsuki, they followed her dilligently, wanting the same goal. For a while, there were eight people under her command.

But that was before she met Hikari, a Iwa-nin two years her superior, that was very good at drawing. He could use his art as means of transportation - if an old sketchbook of his was sill in Iwa, he could use another one (or simply another drawing) to go to the former sketch. In a nutshell, whenever he drew something, no matter what it was or how he drew it, he could use it as a portal into his artistic world.

Akara took Hikari in after having several conversations with him. Although he didn't have much for looks - brown hair and ocean-blue eyes; clear, pale skin; and a very muscular abdomen - he was very art-based in his beliefs and saw things the way Akara did; he loved nothing more then to draw the scenery she described to him. He didn't even have to see it - he could pain a whole canvas based just on her words.

When she concluded that they made a good team, Akara introduced him to the Iwate and made him her partner. He was two years older then she, sixteen, and lower members often speculated a relation between the two. And yes, Akara liked him, but she was too shy to hint such things and he didn't seem too interested in her.

There were two things odd about Hikari: the first being that he often smoked cigarettes; the second being that he absolutely hated his name. Everyone below him was to refer to him as 'Light.' He was very strict about this - everyone besides Akara that referred to him as 'Hikari' found themselves experiancing a very violent side of Hikari. The most peculiar thing about Hikari was the fact that he never forced this rule on Akara. No, with her he was always kind, always paitent, never violent. She had seen him fight, yes, but he had never used his techniques on her. He respected her, her home, and her rules. He never went against her voice - if anything, he reinforced her word on the others. She respected and trusted Hikari, and he respected and trusted her. They were able to live together harmoniously.

And so it went. Akara, Hikari, and the Iwate continued on with their existence, causing trouble for Konoha, but never too much. She was able to pay her bills and keep her house with the money she made (sixty-five percent of it went to her, the other thirty-five percent being divided between the other eight members) and she was growing stronger.

Exhausted, Akara and Hikari slipped into her house at midnight. They had just returned from a very strenuous four-day mission, and wanted nothing more then to sleep the next day away. Stifling a yawn, Akara slipped into her room, changing into her slip of a nightgown, and collapsing onto her bed. She was out almost before she hit it.

* * *

_"I'll come for you, un."_

Akara shot her eyes open, bolted upright, and gasped at the familiar but distant voice of her Father. She hadn't dreampt about him in years...Why would his voice come now? It had been so clear, so exact, just the way he had said it six years before. It almost scared her, the slcarity in which the voice had returned to her.

Wiping sweat and hair away from her face, Akara climbed out of bed, grabbing the brush on the stand to the left of it. She went to the bathroom and fixed her hair, tying up with the tie her Father had put in her hair so long ago...

Akara shoved the thoughts of her Father to the back of her mind and exited the bathroom, looking around her room. It was an organized mess: her clothes, on the right side of her bed, were all heaped together in a little pile, and the rest of the room was covered with things for molding clay. She had a desk to the right of the bathroom door, completely covered with clay and things to work it with. The shelf above it was covered with clay creations she had made during her free time. Most of her art was located in her studio, which she shared with Hikari. Directly across the room was another deck, this one covered with papers, binders, and books. The shelf above it harbored more official items. It looked as though two different people resided in the room. Technically, that statement was true. Akara was a completely different person when governing the Iwate. She was firmer, at least. But when alone with Hikari, she was her old self again: spontaneous, funny, and most definitely blonde.

The sound of something sizziling and the very good smell of dango leaked though her door from downstairs, and Akara happily followed it.

Hikari was cooking dango, just as her sense had told her. The artist had removed his shirt and slept in only his pants, which were seriously riding low in the front (the way the house was situated, when she entered, she came from the left, where the stove was located, and could easily see both sides of Hikari) and made threatening tingles of excitement run through her as she approached. Hikari looked over ot her cooly, his brown bangs flowing to the side a bit. "Ohiyo, Hikari." She said as she took a seat at the table/island behind him.

"Hn." Was his only reply. Hikari was not a morning person; he'd be up fully after he ate and smoked. The oddest thing about Hikari was that he smoked only three times a day, never more. She had never questioned him on it, but had always wanted to.

Hikari finished the dango with one final aerial flip in the frying pan, then transferred them to a plate. He carried the plate over to Akara, handing her a set of chopsticks. He started to walk off. "Hikari?" Akara called back, looking over her shoulder at him. He stopped and waited. "Aren't you going to eat? I couldn't eat all this by myself."

"Later. I'm going out for a smoke." He left. He wasn't much of a morning person until after he had his smoke.

Akara looked down to her plate. Three dangos sat in front of her. If she really wanted to, she could've eaten all three without a second glance, and still have room for more. But to be polite, she ate one and saved the other two for Hikari. He always thought of her before himself, so the least she could do was think of him back. She finished with the dango and left the kitchen, moving to the living room. She didn't feel like getting dressed right at that moment.

A moment after, she decided to change into her clothes. She wore a black leather jacket that went down to her hips. It was tight and form-fitting; the area of her breasts was pastel blue, and the jacket itself buttoned to the fourth button, where two more remained open. A bit of the sealed-shut mouth on her stomach was visible, but that was all. The ends of the jacket (the cuffs and sleeves included) were the same pastel blue as the breast area. She left a button open there, showing off a bit of the c-cup cleavage she had, which, much to her dismay, had stopped growing.

She wore shorts that didn't go any lower then her jacket, which were also black. She wore pastel-blue gloves that went halfway up her arm and had holes in the palms for the mouths on her hands. All this was topped with her medium-height blonde, sort of wavy hair and piercing in her right eyebrow. Her outfit suited her very well - she looked authoritive and commanding, yet happy and confident at the same time. She enjoyed this look; she had come up with it on her own, and it matched her personality.

Akara took a third door connected to her room and stepped onto the spiral staircase that brought her directly back to the living room and nearly had a heart attack when she glimpsed a blonde man, somewhere in his late thirties, at the door. There was another man behind him, red-haired. _Daddy? _Akara thought to herself, her heart in her throat. Hikari slammed the door in somewhat of a rage and spun around. "Wait!" Akara shouted, flying fown the stairs and throwing the door open. "Daddy!" She shouted at the two men, hopping one of them would turn around.

The blonde looked over his shoulder, smirking, and waved, revealing a mouth on his palm. A hopeful Akara went to a very nervous Akara as realization dawned on her. "Chichi! Danna! In, in! Quick!" She ran outside to them, grabbing one of their hands in hers, and quickly ran back inside. She felt both of them stumbled a bit, but continued on.

Akara dragged them inside, threw them forward, and slammed the door behind her. SHe ran around to each window in the living room - there were several - and pulled the shades down, blocking out excess views to the inside. She flipped the lights on. "What was that for?" Sasori asked her, fixing the clothes he had used for this undercover activity.

She motioned to the four brown leather seats that bordered a small ebony table and sat down in one. Sasori and her Father followed. "Konoha's in deep political unrest, Danna. Those with Bloodline Limits are encouragedto leave the village. Anyone who doesn't faces terrible consequences. I can't be found - these hands are a Bloodline Limit, obviously. Also, certain Leaf Villagers work for the government - they believe getting rid of the Bloodline Families will rid Konoha of its problems. You never know who'll turn against you." She paused and called for Hikari, who appeared, asked her not to be so loud - he had a migrane, which he suffered from often. He took the free seat to Akara's right, pulling it over so that it was touching hers. Akara took the hint as he snuggled together in his chair and rubbed the tattoo on his forehead; the Kanji symbol for art. Rubbing it always made him feel better, and she wanted to help him when he needed her. They were clode-but-distant like that. "You know," Hikari started, studying her Father's eyes, "the blue on your outfit is the same as his eyes."

"Hmm," Akara nodded. "Never noticed that."

"You still wear my hairtie, un." Her Father nodded, and she smiled.

"You kidding? I've never seen her with her hair down." Hikari told him, eyes closed now.

Her Father smiled as well. "I've come back for you. Do you remember, un?"

"Of course I do." Akara said softly, looking down to Hikari. "But I can't leave _just _yet. Tonight I have a...meeting with some very important people." Akara looked up to Sasori and smirked. "I'm sorry for keeping you waiting, Sasori-danna."

"Danna?" Hikari repeated, opening his eyes and rolling his head to Sasori a little. "Since when do _you_, of all people, use honorifics?"

"He's actually my Daddy's danna, if you want to get technical. _My _danna's with the Akatsuki."

"And that's why you're headed there?"

"Hai. That's Sasori-danna." She gestured to him nonchalantly.

"I know who Sasori is. And your Father..."

"Deidara, thank you." Her Father put in.

"Deidara?" Hikari repeated, forcing himself to sit upright in interest. He winced, but fought down the pain. "_The _Deidara? Of Iwa?" Her Father nodded. Hikari looked from Akara to her Father and back. "Why hadn't I noticed the similarity before? You look a lot like him, Akara." Just as she was the only one the Iwate to call him Hikari, he was the only one to call her Akara. The other members called her 'Hatafuri,' or 'Leader.' But she didn't mind; they really _did _balance each other.

"How do you know me, un?"

"Who of Iwa's underground is ignorant to the existance of Deidara? People there miss you, you know. Now they have to hire _actual _terrorists, and those take a while, and money, to put together. Yes, the underground citizens of Iwa are practically crying for you, _still. _You're very famous down there."

"I take it you're from Iwa, un."

"Of course." Hikari answered as he stood. "Excuse me. I have to go draw." He left them.

"Anyways," Akara butt in, "now's the best time for the Akatsuki to launch an attack on Konoha - we've never been more politically unsatble. And you've got the support of the Iwate."

"Iwate? Stone Hand, un?"

"I've heard of them," Sasori put in. "Leaf-nin that are Akatsuki enthusists."

Akara nodded. "They consists of excellent nin. They'll support you from the inside." She took the clay that had been left on the table and rolled it in her hands. She had a bad habit of keeping them in motion.

"Very valuable information. Arigato, Akara." Sasori replied with a nod. "But how do you know all this about the Iwate for sure?"

"The group of people I'm expecting over...There's eight of them. Hikari's nine. I'm ten."

"So you're a member, then?"

"More like leader." Hikari butt in, appearing and sitting beside Akara, opening up his sketchbook to a clean page and starting a fresh sketch. That was what caused the migranes - _not _drawing the images that formed in his mind's eye. Resisting the urge to draw what he thought up ripped his mind apart. Slowly, he was being taken over by his art. That was why he used up over twenty sketchbooks in four months - he had no choice. "Akara started the Iwate two years ago, at age twelve. She met me that June." _Has it really been that long ago? _She asked herself. _Two years ago. That's actually not that long, but I've feel like I've known him for over twenty..._

Her Father's jaw dropped. "_You _created the Iwate, Akara? All by yourself?"

"Just me." She confirmed with a happy nod.

"Impressive." Sasori gave her.

"Why, though, un?" Her Father prodded.

Akara shrugged. "They were originally just friends. Then they found out my goals, and they wanted to follow me. So I named our group, and we blossomed from there."

"What exactly are your goals?" Sasori asked her.

"To serve the Akatsuki. We're pro-domination. And we're not all Leaf-nin - two are of Suna," she stuck up two fingers, counting, "four of Konoha, one of Oto - which, I add, is perfect to take over - two of Kiri, and our wonderful on of Iwa." She flicked Hikari's shoulder, indicating that he was from Iwa. "Then there's me."

"None of those countries are allies of Konoha," Sasori pointed out, "How did they get in?"

"Konoha is in a deep state of political unrest." She repeated herself, "It's borders go unchecked right now. Our members cross them almost daily - we keep an eye on all the governments."

"You really _are _useful little spies," Sasori complimented.

"We're meeting tonight to discuss any important changes. Once a month." She yawned, stretched a little.

"So you're really a political party, then, un?" Her Father asked.

"Not just that. We're identified as rogue nin - we do missions just as the Akatsuki do. Gotta get paid, don't we? And with Konoha's government the way it is now, plenty of people are willing to hire us for something. Usually assasination."

"Leader recognizes you," Sasori told her, "acknowledges your existance, I mean. He's somewhat interest in your organization."

"We're ready and willing to work for you, here in Konoha or other native lands."

"What happened to your Hokage?"

"She started Konoha's problem. Many people believe a woman shouldn't lead Konoha - that women don't have what it takes. Some want her in power, but a majority don't. People fought, and fight still. But the Hokage herself was killed long ago."

"So now you're leader-less, un?" Her Father asked, and she nodded. "That's a shame. Konoha, what I've heard of it, was very industrious. Well known, un."

Akara nodded. "Most citizens just want an end to this civil war - it's been going on for well over six years now. They'll take anyone that steps up."

"What happened to the Bloodline Families?" Sasori asked her.

"The Uchihas left. The Hyuugas are the only well-known clan that stayed. All others with any sort of Bloodline Limit left long ago."

"I've heard they Uchihas reside in Iwa now." Hikari put it, sitting up and throwing his sketchbook down on the table. He had drawn a very detailed picture of Akara, naked, censored only by tendrils of a cloud at her most private places. Her arms were up, hands ruffling through hair that was down. Her lips were more luscious and full, her visible eye more attractive - bigger and a little sparkly, and her form had even more curves. She had to be a d-cup in that picture, and her hips were thicker. She was looking straight forward, but her body was positioned to the side a little, making it appear like she was walking up to someone. Hikari always drew her like this - like a prono star. He always drew her perfectly, too. Her body proportions were never too big to suit her, her face never too detailed. Hikari never exaggerated with her. "That's you at twenty-one." He explianed as she picked it up and studied it. He always drew her a little older...

"You always put so much work into the details," she obcerved as she flipped through the pages. She was the only one allowed to touch his sketches. He was very strict about that, along with his other policies.

"It's the details that matter most," he answered. What amazed her was the speed in which he drew, and yet nothing was amiss. Nother overdone, nothing undefined. Perfect.

"Details fade." She said softly, handing the sketchbook back to him. "That's why the best art is the type that slammed into your face. The type only few can identify before it's gone forever." Her Father gave a "Un" of agreement.

"I disagree," Sasori contradicted her. "Art is best when it lasts forever."

"Nothing lasts forever," Hikari said to them. "It's up to the artists that believe in their work to measure just how long their art will last. No other person can control their art, which is why all art is unique." He flipped the page in his sketchbook and started anew. "Art, like nature, is both mortal and immortal. It's existance balances in the cruel hands of humans - we decide it's time here on Earth, just as we decide the time of other people's lives. We're the monsters that crush the beautiful juices out of art and nature alike."

"I hate it when you make me think that why," Akara whined as she snuggled up in her chair so that her head was resting on Hikari's shoulder.

"It's true. You, of all people, should know that."

"I do," she answered softly. As leader of the Iwate, she had to be strong. She had killed many in her fourteen-year-old life, and so she wasn't supposed to be new to this fact. "I just hate being reminded of it." She looked down to his now-finished picture of her Father and gasped. A beautiful picture indeed; simple, but beautiful. Her Father was leaning up against a large clay bird and offering a clay spider with his right hands. There was a blood splatter on the bird's feathers, to his left, and his name in kanji down the left side. Hikari dropped the sketchbook on the table again, allowing her Father and Sasori a look.

"You got the cloak right," Sasori told him.

"Of course I did." If Hikari was anything, he wasn't modest. "I've seen the Akatsuki before. In newspapers." He had an excellent memory, expecially for details.

They talked for hours, about anything that was brought up. The four of them didn't even notice the time until they were interrupted by someone knocking at the back door. Four knocks, pause, two, pause, five. "It's that late already?" Akara asked, knowing her followers had arrived. "Daddy, danna, go hide in my room. Right up that staircase." She pointed to it. "Hikari, go get your shirt on. I'll go answer the door..." The three men did as instructed, and Akara got the door.

The two Sunagakure nin appeared first; Kurori and Kita of the Ten clan. They were fraternal twins: Kurori being the older male, Kita being the younger sister. Kurori had spiky black hair that grew to his shoulders, piercing ice-blue eyes, and a piercing on his tongue (it was Iwate code to have at least one piercing or tattoo.) He had a lean figure and pale skin. Kurori wore the dress code colors of the Iwate; blue and black. His shirt, the same ice-blue of his eyes, seemed brighter in contrast with his midnight-black chain pants.

Kurori's sister, Kita, had blood red hair, but the same icey eyes. Her shirt covered only what was necessary: her breasts. The 'shirt' abruptly stopped after them, exposing her flat stomach and belly-button piercing. The shirt - which was a deep blue - covered her neck, leaving her arms completely bare. She wore mesh cuplings on her elbows and knees, and the skirt she wore (which was very skimpy, in Akara's opinion) was the same black as Kurori's hair.

The two of the Ten clan were puppeteers. They were known not for their skill, but for the puppets in which they commanded. Akara had met these two way back when she first returned - they were the first two to join the Iwate. And, naturally, she knew what their puppets looked like. They were too grotesque to explain.

Akara allowed the Ten twins in; they entered and took a seat at the kitchen table. Akara's heart fluttered with nervousness. It always did that when the Iwate were coming together - she was the leader, after all, and so much was expected of her. "You seem nervous, Akara." Hikari's voice said from the doorway, and her heart faltered. Hikari strode over, taking a seat at the table and cooly greated the Ten twins.

"What makes you think that, Hikari?" She rebounded weakly.

"You're always nervous before a meeting. I've known you long enough to notice." Akara bit her bottom lip to this. He was right, of course. Hikari had an uncanny ability to read her like a book. He always had.

Kurori bit the pointer finger of his left hand until it bled. His eyes were closed, and the hand of that finger balled into a fist. "Something wrong, Kurori?" Akara asked him, hopping up onto the countertop by the stove.

"I completed a jutsu a while back," he bagan, letting up his hand and studying it. "It's turning me into a puppet."

"Why?"

"Because then I can live forever. Just like the great puppet master before me, Akasuna Sasori. I only aspire to be as excellent as he someday." Kurori was an obsessive brute, but good to have around. Kita was a whore that hit on everyone, but kept her distance from Hikari. Akara expressed her feelings of Kita's behavior towards Hikari long ago, resulting in a broken nose for the puppeteer.

"Kurori, you're an idiot." Kita told him. She wasn't Akara's friend, but they weren't enemies, either. "That jutsu completely kills your humanity, but slowly. It takes almost two years to complete." She was a whore, but she wasn't stupid.

"My skin's thicker already." Kurori completely ignored her reason. Akara had seen them fight and, although they _were _good, they would never be as good as Sasori - they didn't devote themselves enough.

There was another encrypted knock at the door, and Akara went to get it.

This time, two Konoha nin appeared - Usagi and Yuki. Both were male. Usagi had spiky blonde hair that was tied back in a rought ponytail, and brown eyes that didn't fit his body at all - they were big and innocent, almost cherubic in their affect, much too innocent-looking for his devilish expressions. Usagi had a tattoo fetich, and so there was almost no part of him that was inkless. Like Kurori and Kita before him, Usagi's outfit consisted of only black and blue. His was simple; a dark blue shirt and baggy black jeans. Ink decorations crawled up his arms and around his neck.

Usagi's partner, Yuki, was a plain enough being. He had flat, silver hair (although he, like the rest of the Iwate, was in his teens) and eerie red eyes. Not just the ireses of his eyes were red, but the whole thing. They black orbs in the very center, the pupils, always frightened Akara. Those eyes could take anything and analyze its every aspect, and in an instant Yuki would know what an enemies' weaknesses were and just how to defeat them. He was a genius with swords and ninjutsu.

Yuki's piercing of choice was the cartilage of his ears; on both, small, cylindrical bars ran through completely. These only added to his eerie figure. Thankfully, however, his clothes were normal enough - a black shirt that clung tightly to a very muscular frame, and baggy blue shorts that conservatively fell to the to the point his arms could reach; about an inch above his knees.

Akara welcomed these two in and resumed her seat on the counterop. Hikari scribbled in a sketchbook, and Kita pulled Yuki into a corner where they tasted each other's mouths. There was silence over the six of them, save for Yuki and Kita's increased breathing. Akara watched the clock tick anxiously. Quarter until nine. The last four would be late if they didn't show up soon...

Agitated, Akara drummed her fingers on the countertop, mentally begging the clock to tick faster. After a minute, she hopped down from the counter and started pacing. _Where are they? _She asked herself, _They'll be late at this rate...Did something happen? _

"Rirakkasu, Akara, they'll be here." Hikari's soft voice spoke to her, although his attention wass still on his drawing. "Yuki and Kita, control yourselves and get back to your seats. Do that on your own time." There were mumbled replies, but neither opposed him.

Another knocking signal. Akara nearly ran over to answer the door.

This time, the two Kiri nin, Taiyaki and Sukimaru, greated her. Taiyaki, as the name claimed, was very much like a fish. He had big, bulbous, beady-black eyes and overly-large lips. His hair was a dyed electric blue, and his outfit was simple black t-shirt and shorts. The piercing he had chosen was in his left ear, almost snuggling into the hard cartilage where it folded over itself. This Kiri-nin possesed gills, and was able to survive underwater. It was speculated that he had used a jutsu on himself, giving his body the power to survive underwater.

His male partner, Sukimaru, was very normal on comparison. He possesed the ability to use water to his advantage, but had no real abnormalities of the body to be identified with. His hair was a dark brown, almost black, and looked as though someone had put a bowl over his head and shaved. He wore a blue shirt that was five sizes too loose, and black shorts about two sizes too tight. Although he lacked even a basic form of fashion sense, Sukimaru's evergreen eyes were always warm and captivating. His piercing was through the bridge of his nose, same as Taiyaki's.

Sukimaru and Taiyaki entered and sat, waiting along with the rest of the present Iwate. Almost an hour passed before there was a knocking signal at her back door.

Akara, lips pressed into a thin line, flung open the door. Yasha of Oto and Akira of Konoha stared back at her. "You're _late_," she scoffed angrilly.

Akira, one of the most beautiful men Akara had ever met, answered wryly, "We were busy." The wind of outside reffled through his shoulder-length, white hair and he move it from his face with one fleeting motion of his hand. Purple eyes pierced through her, and she felt herself backing down. _No, _she thought, I'm _the leader here. No matter what type of genjutsu he has or uses on people, I will not allow myself to succumb to him. _She shook her head, reminding herself of the most likely reason they were late: sex. Yes, these two were obsessed with it. _Don't be lenient, _her subconscious reminded her, _They don't deserve it; you've told them hundreds of times..._

Akira's lip piercing - one of those crescent-shapes ones that appeared to be something crawling out of their mouth from a distance - sparkled in the moonlight. His sky-blue pants suddenly looked very restricting, his midnight black shirt not revealing enough...

"Akira, stop." Yasha, his female partner, ordered him, and his gaze broke away from Akara's. "Gomen, hatafuri-sama. I apologize for his inapropriate behavior." She elbowed him in the ribs warningly. Akara looked over at her, only just beginning to come back. "And I also apologize for being so late. I promise, it won't happen again." Yasha's earrings, which were her piercings, sparkled in the moonlight a swell. They weren't the dangly type, but large cubic zarconium spheres that took up a majority of her earlobes. She was one of the simpler beauties; bright orange hair - dyed, perhaps? - that gracefully fell over her shoulders and dull black eyes that showed every emotion. She wore black and blue, but in a combination-camoflouge sort of thing. Her camoflouge blue-and-black vest covered a plain white t-shirt, and her pants were the same. Akara never bothered her; she was sincere and polite enough, and, although having such a guilty pleasure with Akira, never challenged her word. She had been a perfect match for Akira, who was sardonic and constantly contradicting her.

"Hmph!" Akara answered, "Perhaps next time you'll plan when you have sex." It was so easy to tell; by the way both partners had dilated pupils, how both had leaves and dirt in their hair, how the left-over orgasims were resounding through their voices...Kami, they were only teenagers! Didn't they have any respect for their bodies?

Yasha went a deep shade of scarlet and looked to the ground; Akira just looked away. "H-hai, hatafuri-sama," she stammered, "we'll try to remember dates next time." Akara nodded and allowed them in.

As they took their seats, Akara let out a deep breath and spoke. "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's begin. First off, have there been any significant changes within your governments?"

Kurori and Kita spoke first, as was custom. They had been members the longest, and so they reigned some superiority. "Suna's thinking about infiltrating Konoha with the help of Oto. They believe the key to being prosperous again is to 'eliminate the leech,' or Konoha. They're still debating." That was Kurori. Kita had nothing to add.

Next was Yasha. She knew this and spoke, "Oto, having been without its first leader for fourteen years, is in a very terrible state of anarchy. Kabuto is trying to regain control and claim the land for himself, but the people are skeptical. They believe he's not a fit Kage, seeing as he let Orochimaru's murderer get away. The last thing on their minds is a war, unless it benefits them."

Finally, it was Taiyaki and Sukimaru's turn to speak. Sukimaru, having more experiance then Taiyaki, spoke for the two of them, "Kiri does not wish to participate in any sort of war, even political, if it does not benefit themselves. They are more willing to serve for many and land."

Usagi, Akira, and Yuki were all from Konoha, and so they hadn't a need to report - that was Akara's job. if every member _did _contribute, however, it would be in the following order: Kurori and Kita of Suna, Usagi and Akira of Konoha, Yasha of Oto, Yuki of Konoha, Sukimaru and Taiyaki of Kiri, and Hikari of Iwa. It was easier if only Akara reported for Konoha.

And so she did. "Things here aren't resolving themselves. We're Hokage-less, and government officials are struggling to get things under control. Our borders go unchecked, shich is why all of you never have a problem with entering. Citizens around here are untrustworthy; if they learn you possess a Bloodline Limit, no matter how small, you'll be turned in either for experimentation or exportation. There's no money circulating around here - Konoha's in a desperate state. Perfect to take over. So, here's what I was thinking: if I, or we, were to gain enough popularity through the people, we'll have enough power to claim Konoha in a deep state of emergency and close the borders. All of you will be within them, and henceforth trapped. We assasinate all the government officials still clinging to power, and replace them with one of our own. Once all of you have gotten a position, you unanimously vote _me _into office, as Hokage. Then we rule Konoha." She waited for the speculation that she knew was coming.

"That'll take longer then a few days, you know." Akira contradicted her, first off, as usual. "First we have to gain favor of the people. That alone could take _years. _Then we'd have to convince the people that our members are better for the government and themselves then the current officers are."

"The people are desperate. If we started out by loaning money or completing missions, we'll gain the favor quickly." Akara rebutted. That was what she loved about being leader; the debates.

"We don't have the funds to give away money," Kurori thought aloud, "We should try something else. We could come in indirectly, through an enemy nation. If we work for them, they'll be willing to help."

"We could try that with an _allied _nation, nii-san." Kita said to him. "Then Konoha will be more willing to accept the aid. Once Hatafuri grabs her seat of power, we do with Konoha what we want."

"That could work," Yuki backed her, looking up to Akara.

"The people will retaliate," Hikari contradicted, poking at a closed sketchbook for emphasis. "We can't just force new leaders on them. We have to go slow. I agree with Akara." He folded his arms on the table and laid his head down on them.

There were murmurs throughout the table. Akara paced back and forth, thinking. Just how _would _they come into power? There were so many different options, and so many possible failures..."What if we got help from an allied nation?" She brought Kita's idea back to light. A hush fell, and she continued, "What if we get conset from, say, Amegakure? If they supported us, they could help with coaxing Konoha into believing we're good for them. Said village could also provide some funds."

More murmurs. But then, Sukimaru shouted over them, "What if we merged with the Akatsuki?" Excited murmurs followed the suggestion.

"No!" Akara refused, and silence fell. "Why would the leader of the Akatsuki just agree to backing us? _He wants the same thing we do! _Until we do something great, we're _competition._"

"So we'd _have _to conquer Konoha before the Akatsuki recognizes us?" Taiyaki put two and two together.

"Exactly." Akara agreed with a nod. "If we were to take control of Konoha and hand it over to the Akatsuki, I'm certain they'll side with us. But before we do something to prove our strength, we're nothing but incandescent flies on rotting meat."

"You always use such grotesque analogies, Hatafuri-sama." Yasha observed with a shudder.

"She's right, though." Usagi spoke. "We're absolutely nothing in the eyes of the Akatsuki until we do something great to prove otherwise." Akara returned to her pacing.

"So the question remains: How do we take over Konoha?" She said to them.

"First off, we need more followers." Kurori answered.

"No, even before that. We need more _funds_." Kita contradicted him, as she always did.

"Kita's right." Akara nodded. "But how do we get more funds? We're already working our asses off."

"How much to we make anually?" Hikari asked her.

Akara stopped to think. "About one-point-five million yen."

He wrote the number down in his sketchbook. "How much is each member paid?"

"Approximately one thousand yen."

"And there's ten of us, so ten thousand yen are spiraling down the drain." Hikari did the math. "That leaves us with only eighty thousand yen to manuver with."

"Subtract another thirty thousand. I have house bills."

Hikari subtracted that as well. "Sixty thousand yen. That's hardly enough to piss."

Akara wanted to smile at that, but knew that she couldn't. "Okay, I've got an idea. Instead of getting paid that fixed amount after we complete a mission, we'll get differnt amounts based on how much we get paid for the mission. For example, if Kurori and Kita made sixty thousand yen, each would recive five. The rest will go to Hikari and I, who'll use come to pay the pills and store the rest. We'll meet twice a month from now on; once to gather information and once to get paid."

"Only five thousand yen if we made sixty?" Yuki asked, voice full of dissaproval.

Akara nodded. "Five thousand each. That could be your monthly budget. Hikari and I will figure out the actual math later." There were murmurs of what Akara knew to be dissaproval, but nothing more. "Also," Akara changed the subject, "Hikari and I are leaving to find the Akatsuki. A friend of mine is waiting for me there. Don't worry, I'll talk to the leader about our plans. Kurori, Kita," -she turned to them-- "if Hikari and I never return, I want the both of you to take our place and continue on with my work." They nodded diligently. "It may take a while, but if you don't hear from me in more then seven months, assume we're dead. If I _do _come back after seven months, I expect to be allowed back."

"Hai." The Ten twins answered in unison.

"You're all dismissed." They jumped away, leaving Hikari and Akara completely alone. Akara yawned and stretched her aching shoulder muscels.

"You seem exhausted." Hikari said as he collected his sketchbook and pencil and stood.

Akara looked at a clock on the wall. One-thirty in the morning. She yawned and stretched her arms. "Frankly, I'm beyond it. C'mon, we gotta go check on Daddy and Sasori-danna. Being alone all that time and all..." Hikari nodded, and she led him upstairs and to her room.

Her Father and Sasori were sitting on the stairs, far back enough so that they couldn't been seen by anyone else, and were leaning as far as they could without being seen. "Chichi! Danna! What're you doing?" They jumped to their feet.

"Listening in on our meeting, of course." Hikari stated the obvious, sounded surprised.

Akara rolled her eyes. "C'mon, guys, my room." And they followed her up the stairs and to her room.

Inside, Akara sat at her Iwate-Leader desk (the one with all the books and papers, which was situated to the left of her room) and began scribbling down notes on all major ifndings and theories. Hikari sat on her bed, her Father at her clay deck, and Sasori stood. "Make yourselves comfortable," she offered, quickly writing.

"So..." Her Father started, stealing some of her clay off the desk, "You plan on overthrowing Konoha?"

"It won't be that hard. They're desperate for a leader already."

Hikari laid back on her bed, 'secretly' sniffing her pillows. "It's still gonna be challangeing. Think of all the people who _won't _want you leading because of your hands."

He said it so bluntly it almost hurt. Akara stopped writing for the briefest of instants, but picked up again and answered, "That's why I wear gloves."

"And your stomach?"

"I'll wear my jacket closed." She subconsciously closed the bottom four buttons.

"Gomen," Hikari apologized. "I hurt you."

"I'm fine, arigato." She continued with her scribbling.

"I think Leader wants you to help us, un." Her Father pressed. "Sometimes he hints that we need help, or more people."

"Don't you have Ame behind you?"

"More is merrier." Sasori told her. "You want our help, so why not suggest something to him? He may listen."

Akara nodded, finishing her notes and filing them away. She turned a bit to face the three men. "Can we go tomorrow? I need sleep." Her Father and Sasori nodded. She thought for a minute, then, "There's an empty room down the hall." She stood, motioned for them to follow. They did. She lef them down the hall a ways, past Hikari's room, and peeked inside the door she stopped in front of. There were two beds inside, fully dressde with sheets, blankets, and pillows. "Yup, this is empty. You can sleep here." She stepped aside and allowed them to see past her. They followed her inside. "There's a bathroom, Daddy, back down the hall the way we came and to the left. I'll keep its door open. Leave closed doors closed, please, and knock if you really wanna go through. There's food downstairs, help yourself. If you need me, my door is the one with 'Haniwa' written on it." She yawned, turned around. "I'm going to bed. Oyasuminasai." They murmured goodnights.

She returned to her room then, where Hikari was waiting for her, drawing something as he reclined on her bed. Collecting her slip of nightgown, she made her way to the bathroom connected to her room, where she closed the door behind herself and quickly changed.

Hikari was finished with his drawing when she returned. Throwing her clothes to the left of her bed, Akara climbed onto her bed and sat beside Hikari, who quickly flipped the page of his sketchbook. He had drawings he would not allowed her to see, and they went in a particular book. Usually, when he didn't want her to see, he would draw in his room. She never questioned him, but found now to be the perfect oppertunity. "What was that other one?" She asked him innocently, pressing her breasts against his arm on purpose.

"A drawing," he countered. He wasn't a virgin - he'd had girls before. He knew the tricks. But he didn't know _hers. _

"Of what?" She rested her head on his shoulder, twirling a lock of her own hair around her fingers.

"You." No detail. That wasn't normal for Hikari; he was hiding something.

"Naked?" He drew her naked often, but usually censored. Perhaps in this book, he let his imagination run wild? Akara pressed her body closer, letting one leg go over his. Her body - and area - throbbed with anticipation. Nonetheless, she kept her composure and pressed her area to his thigh. Let him suffer along with her.

"Hn." Ooh, this time, no answer at all. She was getting closer...

Akara let her hair down. They wavy locks of gold fell over her shoulders, deepening the shade of her visible eye. "Ah, that's better." She tossed the hairtie onto her nightstand. "Why won't you tell me, Hikari?" She rubbed her leg up and down his. Beads of sweat were gathering at his hairline.

"You won't like it. You'll be made at me for drawing you like I did." Her place throbbed even more with anxiety.

"I won't be mad," she whispered in his ear, "no matter what." She nibbled his earlobe, instantly whishing she hadn't. He tasted too good for her to stop...

"You'll be ambarrased. It's not censored." She managed to somehow remember her task at break away from his earlobe.

"So? I still want to see it." She carefully breathed, letting her breath cascade down on his neck gently. Adrenaline was rushing through her, straight to her private area, making her want him to loose all control. But she knew he wouldn't - Hikari had a excellent ability to simply ignore emotions.

"Fine." Hikari gruffed, and he flipped the page over.

She inwardly groaned. It was a completely naked picture of her, using the mouth on her right hand to satisfy the lustful feelings she felt every night. Her hips were pressing upward, against the hand, and she was biting her lower lip in the height of the feelings. Her other hand was gripping white sheets around her, ruffling them. Her hair was gently falling over her shoulders, beautifully portraying her expressions and feelings. Hikari had not forgotten detail; the stitched-up mouth on her stomach was smiling a little in delight.

Akara bit her lower lip and looked away. "You shouldn't draw such things." She chided, trying to force away the lustful feelings below her waist.

"Gomenasai." He apologized, "I didin't mean to offend you." He closed his sketchbook.

"Hikari, can I ask you something?" She asked, turning back to him. He nodded. She looked down to her hands, studied them for a moment. "At night, I think of you. But it's wrong - the kinds of things I shouldn't be thinking about at fourteen. I experience these feelings...Also whenever I'm close to you. And they make me do _that._" She added emphasis on 'that' so he'd know what she was talking about.

Hikari smiled. "So naive, little Akara. You're experiencing normal teenage hormones. Lusting for a touch, a feel, skin-on-skin contact. Perfectly normal. Everyone goes through it."

"Did you?" He nodded. Akara, comforted, wrapped her arms around him. "Do you lust for me?" Such terms were absolutely new to her - never having someone to tell her what they were before she met him. She hadn't had anyone to talk to over the six long years since she'd departed from her Father, and everything was still so new to her...She had to admit, though: she had never felt such intense feelings for someone before.

He hesitated. "Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't be drawing you like that." He seemed almost guilty of something. "Drawing you that way is my guilty pleasure." He smiled weakly.

"Doing that is mine." She replied. "Is that okay?" She wasn't sure if it was or not.

"Perfectly normal. If you were older, I'd suggest something...But you're only fourteen."

She pressed against him again, rubbing her leg up and down his, slowly. Instinct had taken over by now - this was not her doing. "What would you suggest?" Her body was screaming for his toush. Her area throbbed against his thigh, and she wondered if he could feel it.

"I would suggest doing what you do yourself for you. But you're still too young. I don't want to hurt you."

Akara looked staight into his eyes. He looked back. "You can kiss me," she offered, "and you can feel me. I want you to." Her body yearned for his hands to feel all over, know every part of her...

Hikari seemed to take that offer into consideration. "Stand," he commanded, and she backed off the bed, following his instructions. Her bed creaked, and she knew that he had followed. From behind, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Good thing the doors were closed..."I can feel you? I can put my hands under this?" He tugged at the speghetti strap of her slip.

Akara nodded. "Yes. You can feel all you like." Dirty fantasies started flashing through her mind - Hikari nibbling her neck and earlobe, pushing her down onto the bed, and beginning a process to which she had no idea how to start.

He took the invitation. Slowly, his right hand slid north and over her right breast, grabbing it a little. Akara's heart nearly stoped. His hand continued its journey, this time moving west. It touched the bare side of her breast, and she grunted happily. The hand went under the cover of the slip and over to her breast again. It found her nipple and stopped, rubbing it. Akara let out another moan. Hikari kissed her neck, and things didn't get any better. "Ummm...Hikari, please, touch me more." His hands, so soft...He rubbed his nose gently up her neck and onto her chin, which he nibbled.

His other hand, which remained lifeless, was taken by Akara's. She guided it down to her pulsating area. "Touch me _more_," she begged. Hikari took her hand and guided it below her underwear. She gasped as the mouth injected its tongue. "Ummm...Hikari..."

"You're much too young for this." He seemingly told himself. He guided her to her bed, where she removed the hand. "I'm not touching you again until you turn eighteen." He collected his sketchbook - that had been on top of her gloves and hairtie on the nightstand - and left.

"Four years!" Akara said, exhasperated. "I have to wait for Hikari for another four years?"

_No, _she answered her thoughts, Hikari _has to wait for _you.

Groaning, Akara turned off the light and crawled under the covers. The feelings were still there, but she ignored them. She had to learn how to push them down for another four years. These thoughts in mind, Akara drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Note:**

**Rirakkasu: Relax**

**Hatafuri: Leader **

**Oyasuminasai: Goodnight **

**Sunagakure: Sand Village**

**Kirigakure: Mist Village**

**Iwagakure: Stone Village**

**Amegakure: Rain Village **


	7. Chapter 7: The History of Light

**Chapter 7: The History of Light**

Last night was not easy for Akara. She drempt dirty dreams of her and Hikari, and woke up every time just before he was about to thrust into her, which left behind sickeningly good feelings. Each time she awoke, she had to lull herself to sleep again by putting her hand to cruel work. It was disgusting, but it felt good.

Pulling on her clothes, Akara looked at herself in the mirror. She looked a little pale, and lingering beads of sweat resided at her hairline. _Last night seemed like a dream, _she thought as she washed cold water over her face. _Just like all the rest. _She tied her hair up and pulled her gloves on. She was ready.

Upon walking downstairs to the kitchen, Akara found that Hikari was already awake. Pangs of indecision and regret hit her, and she found she couldn't speak. He was cooking, so she took a seat at the table and waited.

"Ohiyo, Akara." Sasori's voice came from behind. She looked over her shoulder and gave a weak smile. "You don't look very good," he noted, sitting across from her at the table.

"I didn't sleep too well," she admitted, resting her cheek in her hand.

"Anxious?"

"Yeah." She agreed with a nod. _But not because of leaving, _she silently added. "Where's Daddy?"

"Sleeping still. He never gets much sleep, so I figured I'd let him." Sasori shrugged. "One of the many advantages of being a puppet."

"You don't have to sleep at all?" She was interested now.

Sasori shook his head. "Nor do I have to eat, drink, or breathe. I don't feel any pain, either."

"But that means you can't feel soft, tender touches." Akara replied as she looked down at her hand. "No tickles, no hugs, no warmth. What about a cool autumn breese? Don't you miss any of that?" She looked back up at him expectantly.

Sasori shook his head. "It was too long ago to remember. I'm immortal now - such trivial things are unimportant."

"Oh." Akara said, feeling her heart fall. Without the feeling of touch, she didn't know how she could survive. No soft touches of Hikari's skin on hers, no cool breezes...nothing. No reeling whatsoever. "Sasori-danna?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still have emotion?" She paused, looked down to her hands. "Can you still feel anger? Jealousy? Love?"

"I prefer not to. Emotions get in the way of my work."

Hikari set a plate of pancakes in front of her with a fork (she possesed both forks, spoons, knives, and chopsticks) and ate some. "No hunger," she noted, referring back to their previous conversation.

"None." Sasori confirmed.

"How 'bout lust?" She asked, thinking back to last night, her mouth full of pancakes.

"Lust?" He repeated, and she nodded. He was silent a moment before, "I feel lust."

"Sasori-danna, how come men can ignore their emotions?"

"They can't. Sooner or later they have to express themselves."

"But they _can _shove them down when nessecary." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. Women are ruled by their emotion. Men are not."

"Do they train differently or something?"

Sasori chuckled. "No, it's just a difference in hormones."

_There they are again, _she thought. "Well, I guess I'll go wake Daddy up. But if he's in any awkward position, I'm manking you do it." Sasori laughed as she walked away.

She nearly died of laughter at the sight. Her Father, Deidara of Iwa, had his limbs sprawled every which way, and was making out with the mouth on his left hand. Akara burst out laughing, wrapping her arms around her stomch, and doubled over a bit. If only she had a camera...

Her Father's eyes popped open then, and a blush swept over his face. He bolted upright, shouting and throwing the hand away from his mouth. "Sasori-danna!" Akara shouted, turning away, "Guess what Daddy was doing!" She ran when she heard her Father chase after her.

"Akara, don't you dare, un!" Her Father yelled from behind. Akara giggled as she ran down the stairs.

"Danna! Danna!" She called happily, "Guess what Daddy was doing!" She was visible to Sasori now. He looked over. "He was - "

"I swear Akara, un! Not another word!" Her Father wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her up off the ground. Akara laughed happily. She hadn't seen him in six years, and it was good to have so much fun now that he was here. "Not another word!" He threatened.

"Let me guess," Sasori began, "he was making out with his hand again?"

"Yes!" Akara burst into a new firt of laughter. Her Father dropped her, exhasperated, and sat at the table across from Sasori, loudly banging his head down on the table. "Gomen, Chichi! It's just too funny!" She choked down the rest of her laughter. "What - or who - were you thinking of, anyway?"

"Actually, I was dreaming about Ino, un."

All humor was chocked out of her then. "Ino?" She checked. Her Father nodded. Akara, in reply, crinkled her nose in disgust and replied, "Hmph! Why would you dream about _her_?" She sounded more like a jealous ex then an envious daughter.

Her Father shrugged. "You resemble her a little, un."

At this, Akara walked over to a cupboard over the counter beside the stove and audibly slammed her head onto it. She banged her head several times before Hikari entered. "Whoa, what happened?" He asked, referring to a nearly-unconscious Akara.

"I said she looked like her Mother, un."

"I do _not!_" Akara shouted, angrilly slamming her head onto the cupboard again.

"Then you don't." Hikari said simply, causing Akara to stop and turn to him. "If you don't think you look like your Mother, you don't. Simple as that." He paused, then changed the subject. "I'm going to change. We're leaving, right?"

"Un," she didn't realize she had stolen her Father's speech impediment.

Hikari nodded. "I'll be a minute," and left for upstairs.

"My head hurts," Akara complained as she sat beside her Father at the table.

"You brought that upon yourself, un." He chided. "Do you do that all the time?"

"Whenever." Akara waved the subject away. She laid her right arm on the table and leaned her head down on it. Her eyes rolled up to Sasori. "Danna," she began, picking her head up a little, "can I see your hand?" Sasori offered his hand. She took it in both of hers, studying it. Completely made of wood. The joints, however, were made of metal. Every bit of the hand that moved was segmented into moving pieces. "That's amazing," she breathed, turning his hand over in hers. "Why'd you do it? Change your body?" She looked up to him.

He shrugged. "My definition of art is something that will last forever - something that will stand the test of time. I also believed my puppets were art. I wanted to be art, too, so I changed my body accordingly."

Akara continued to study Sasori's hand, deep in thought. _He hates waiting or making people wait, _she thought, _and yet he changed himself into a puppet, forcing his parents to wait for him in Heaven, assuming there is one. Why? They were killed - they did nothing wrong. _Akara looked up to Sasori again. _Why make them wait? _"Do you believe in some sort of diety, Sasori-danna?" She asked.

"No."

"What about a place people go when they die?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"You're evading my question."

Sasori studied her for a long while. She stared back into his eyes, unflinching. After a while, he looked away and said, "I believe in reincarnation."

_So that's why he doesn't think he's making his mother and father wait - he believes they're still somewhere in this world, _she thought. "How old are you?"

He looked back to her. "I stopped counting."

"About?"

"Fifty-six." He answered. "Somewhere around there."

She could stand it no longer. "Do you miss your parents, Sasori-danna?" She was never one for slowly breaking the news - slow was not her lifestyle.

Sasori took his hand back at this. He studied her a moment before clenching it over where his heart was supposed to be. "This spot right here," -he tapped it lightly with his pointer finger-- "it's my heart. My weakest point. When it's touched, I can feel it. The only place I can still feel - the one place I'm vulnerable. It still creates emotions, still remembers them. Whenever I think of my parents, it cringes in a sad way. Childhood emotions I've fought so hard to surpress spring back at me, and I'm sure that if I still had tear ducks, I would cry."

Akara looked away sadly, a knot in her throat and heart alike. "Gomenasai, Sasori." She held back the 'danna' to make sure he knew she fully meant it. "I know all too well what that's like."

Hikari appeared then, and the mood around the three of them lightened almost instantly. "So, are we going or not?" He asked them, pencil behind his ear, sketchbook in his hand.

"Of course," Sasori replied as he stood. Akara and her Father followed him.

"The base you know isn't the one we're going to, un." Her Father told her, "We're going to one in Ame." Akara nodded.

The four of them left her house and walked through the streets slowly. Akara was nervous - she possessed her Father's blood, and therefore was gifted with the same artistic hands he had. If, for some reason, her Father opened his hands, both of them could be killed, or worse. Seemingly aware of her anxiety, he stuffed his hands into his pockets. Not a word was muttered between them.

They hit Konoha's barrier around the city and jumped off, Sasori leading, followed by her Father, herself, and Hikari. Akara felt her jaw tighten, her lips clench together in a tight line. Anxiety was taking over. She was going to the Akatsuki to battle a friend - a best friend - that she hadn't seen in six years. Uchiha Ita. How did she fare in her training? How quickly had she developed? What were her techniques? What did she look like, now that she was older, and probably past puberty? Akara was overwhelemed with uncertainty, and she felt a terrible need to throw up. Grudgingly, she fought down the waves of nausea that attacked her. Part of her couldn't wait to see Ita again - that part wanted to be her best friend again. But another half of her wanted to pummel Ita to the ground, prove she was worth something. What happened after, though? What if killed Ita? How would she be able to live with herself? How would she fare? She was pretty well-rounded in her arsenal of possible attacks, but what if Ita was able to pinpoint her weaknesses? What if they were still too evenly matched?

Before she knew it, darkness fell. They stopped where they were and camped there for the night. Deep within the covers of the forest, they found it nessecary to build a small fire to keep animals away. Akara erected a shield jutsu around their base so that the smoke of the fire would go unseen and they would be overlooked if someone was to walk by. Hikari and Sasori went off to get some wood, leaving her alone with her Father.

Akara held her knees close to her, biting her lower lip in anticipation. What if she wasn't a challenge for Ita at all? What would happen then? How would they behave towards each other after? Would they be friends? Enemies? So many questions swam through her head, Akara felt a new wave of nausea. She covered her mouth and desperately tried to fight it down.

The warm arms of her Father wrapped around her, pulling her close to his wonderfully warm body. "What's bothering you, un?"

Akara snuggled in closer. She was so cold..."I'm so nervous about fighting Ita-danna...How is she?"

"She's beaten all but Itachi, Leader, and Konan in combat, un." Akara groaned and laid her head on his chest. She was strong. "She misses you. She looks forward not to fighting you, but seeing you and speeking to you. I wasn't supposed to tell you that, so you didn't hear it from me, un."

"How do you know this?"

"She talks to me a lot. I remind her of you, I guess, un."

"Be honest with this, no matter what; who do you think'll win, me or her?"

"Honestly, you're very well matched. She's best at taijutsu, though - hand to hand, un."

Akara didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was best at ninjutsu - distance. She voice this sadly. "Just remember that genjutsu is not an option - illusions can't work on the blind," he offered.

Sasori and Hikari returned then, both carrying a mineal amount of firewood in their arms. They piled it up in a firepit formation, and Akara used a fire jutsu to light the wood. Hikari and Sasori sat across from her and her Father. For a long while, all was quiet. Akara stared into the fire, hugging her knees and resting her chin on them. Her eyes flicked over to Sasori's, and a question hit her. "Hey, danna." Sasori looked over to her. "Do you have feeling in your eyes? How could they work without being real? They show what you're thinking somethimes, you know." She realized she was rambeling and fell silent, waiting for an answer.

"They're real. My Chakra inside this body connects itself to it so I can move freely. And yes, I have feeling in my eyes."

"Can you cry?"

"I don't have tear ducts." _Why do I find him so interesting? _She asked herself, staring over at him. She nibbled at her lower lip, a bad habit she had when she was thinking intensely or worried. Her lip quickly became inflamed.

"You're anxious to get to the Akatsuki base," Hikari observed. She was such an open book for him..."Why are we going, exactly?"

Akara sighed. "It's a long story."

"Humor me."

"When I was seven," she began, unsure, "I met Uchiha Ita, heir to the Uchiha clan. We bonded quickly - I needed someone to rely on, and she needed to be relied on. We were the perfect pair, her and I. Me, always looking for the beauty behind the beauty and wishing I had someone to describe it, and her, blind and unable to see it. She loved my way of describing things, and I loved describing them to her. Most of our time was spent looking for something beautiful to talk about.

"But both of us had our own demons to deal with. We tried our best to help one another, but we couldn't fully understand each other's problems. Ita-danna's parents were involved with the Akatsuki, or at least, they used to be. She was a payment to a debt. And me? I was an atrocity to all the people of Konoha - even the other friends we made looked down on me. My hands were stitched up back then." She studied one, grateful for having them now.

"Why?" Hikari prodded.

"My stepfather." She clenced her fist angrilly. "He saw me practicing my art once and freaked out. He stitched them shut." Although she was close to both her Father and the fire, as she continued her story, Akara found herself growing colder. With anger? Perhaps. "He was in one of his drunken rages, so naturally he didn't stitch them right, causing them to get infected. I wore gloves after that, ashamed. I wasn't sure of myself anymore - I couldn't believe my identity. Ita-danna helped me come back - I met her after this happened - but without my art, I was nothing.

"Things got worse. My hands - and my stomach - got infected. My training at the Academy nearly stopped, and I nearly died. Shortly after the infection had began to set in, Ita-danna, then eight, ran away to the Akatsuki. I was scared. Her Mother was in tears, and I didn't know what to do. I turned back, out of their house, and ran to mine, thinking, 'Something isn't right.'

"I probably would've either died of infection or been killed if there had been different people at my house that morning.

"When I got there, I took the back door. I was greeted with the usual sounds of a drunken argument, but something more as well. Someone else was in the house. Someone terrible. I pushed the door of the living room open - I took it down before I met you.

"My stepfather and Mother had been murdered, and their killers stood before me. Two Akatsuki. I didn't know how to feel; should I be happy because I was freed of my hell, or should I be upset because their killers were still there, and I had revealed myself to them?

"I looked to my Mother's body and knew instantly she was dead. I told the two men and one asked if I was going to cry. He told me they had killed my Mother and Father.

"He thought that man was my Father. He called that man my Father.

"I was so angry that he had referred to my stepfather as my Father that I shook with anger. That figure started taunting me, but anger over took me, and I completely cut him off, shouting that my Father could never be such a bastard. I weakly looked down to one of my hands and thought, 'My Father will know how to fix them.' But, as always, another possibility crossed my mind: What if neither of my parents had such artistic hands, and I was just a genetic freak?

"I fell to my knees then, and the one opressive Akatsuki told me I shouldn't love so much, that getting attached only led to pain. I told him that I was thinking of myself, and his partner told me that was very conceited. I told them I had no reason to stay in Konoha anymore, and the first told me to leave. I asked him where a seven-year-old girl could go without being stopped, molested, killed, or even worse. Long story short, I employed them to help me find Ita-danna. We caught up with her and made it to the Akatsuki base, where she stayed while I left."

"But of course, you didn't leave without a fight. It's not like you to simply let something go if you're against it." Hikari nodded, and she gave a weak smile. "One question, though: the two Akatsuki you met, was it these two?" Akara nodded and looked to the fire. all was quiet for a great while before Hikari spoke again. "I know what happened to you now - would you like to know what happened to me?"

Akara shot her head up, looking over at him. Was he serious? Over the two years she had known him, Hikari had never mentioned a single detail of his past. When she was training in Twa two years before, she had come across a frail-looking, brown-haired, blue-eyed nin with the kanji form of 'art' on the left side of his forehead, over the temple. He was living on the streets, living off whatever scraps he could find. Back then, he was inside his artistic world more often then not. She met him just as he was coming out of a drawing, and so his secret was revealed. He had no choice but to fight her in attempts to kill - she would tell of his skill and he would be even worse off. Luckilly for her, he was weak and malnourished, and so could not fight as well as he normally could. She defeated him, and he had begged her to kill him. But when she looked down on his frail form, his tender skin, she realized she couldn't. So instead, she had offered to take him in. He shouted at her that he didn't need a woman to take care of him, and attaked again. She fled.

The next day, she returned, and they struck up petty conversation. Over a period of two weeks, they were as close as two friends that had known one another for years. Akara again invited him to travel with her, and this time, he warily agreed. Soon after, she had made him a part of the Iwate, back in Konoha. They had been together ever since.

Akara hugged her knees tightly and stared into the fire. She had asked him once before, only once, but he had never answered. "You don't have to," she told him, her voice a whisper.

Hikari began anyway. "I've had my art as long as I can remember. I've never needed to learn how to draw - the skill had always been with me. There was a point in time where I took it for granted - I thought the life I was living couldn't change. I was an only child, but happy with life. My mother was a beautiful woman - I was told back then that I had her eyes. She was an artist, and my father, an Iwa-nin, took care of us.

"Shortly after I graduated from the Iwa Academy, I learned of my talent - Before that, I drew only as a hobby, and had no idea what I could do. I was curious to what I could achieve and how it worked, so I was drawing almost constantly. I learned that I could enter my own world where all of my drawings resided. I was so proud of myself...Especially when, in my world, the drawings moved and had personalities of their own. I was so excited to show my mother, I practically dragged her in. Her soul slipped from her body, and she was trapped inside my world. I learned it was because I had never drawn her before - a spirit can't go into my world without a body there to recieve it. It works so that I have to draw the person I want to bring in before I can do so safely.

"When I found my mother's dead body on the floor by my bedroom wall, dead, I collected a few sketchbooks and pencils and ran away from my father. What would he do if he learned I had stolen mother's spirit from her? So I ran, and continued to run, until I found parts of Iwa I had no idea existed. I stayed there for about two years before I met you."

Chilled, Akara stared into the dwindling fire. She thought to herself, _That's the story of Hikari. No wonder he's never wanted to explain the physics of his jutsus. _Akara kept her eyes away from Hikari's, but she still felt his on her. "If I may," she began, "I have a question."

"Misai."

"Why couldn't you bring her back?"

"Her spirit evaporated into my world, as if it went there and died there. Or rather, it went there and was swallowed up by the world. If someone else were to stumble into my world without my drawing a body for them, they probably would 'die' as well." Hikari chuckled at the expression she let slip on her face. "You think I'm a monster." It wasn't a question.

"No." Akara answered firmly. "Ever since I was a girl, I was defined as a monster by my peers. I know how it feels to be completely alone - a forced independence. I know how much words can hurt. No inoocent kid should be given the title of 'monster' because of something they couldn't control." Hikari stared into her eyes and she finished, "It was an accident, and I'm sure they forgive you." Her jaw set into a hard line.

HIkari looked away, and silence swept over the four of them, smothering them in its weight. Anger boiled through Akara's veins at the thoughts of young children being defined as monsters. It was wrong, the whole thing. How could you deny a four-year-old child because other people claimed it was a monster? Ever since she had felt that pain, the scaring feeling of absolute loneliness, she had promised never to label someone as they appeared. That was the one reason why the Iwate had such a wide collection of people.

Hikari fell back, holding his hands behind his head as a pillow. "Oh, look - stars."

Akara was tempted to do the same, but, for some reason, found herself frozen in place. She stared at the fire longingly, wishing she were as naturally warm and energetic just then. But, as luck had it, she was currently feeling drained and somewhat depressed. She couldn't be sure as to why, but she was feeling very alone just then.

Willing herself to move, Akara stretched, yawned, and said, "Well, I'm going to bed. Oyasumi." There were muffled versions of 'goodnight' from the three men as she fell over onto her side, facing the fire, and fell asleep.

* * *

_**(Hikari) **_

He was the first to wake, as usual. With the dawn, with the new light, he always woke. He was born to this light, which was why he was named light.

Glancing over at the sleeping form of Akara, Hikari wondered two things: the first being when he'd fallen asleep, and, more importantly, why he had turned Akara down the day before yesterday. Usually, when a girl wanted sex, he wasn't one to keep her waiting. On the streets of Iwa, he gave them what they wanted - he performed. At his current age - sixteen - he already knew all the tricks women pulled. He already knew how to get exactly what he wanted, exactly when he wanted it. And yet, when Akara was completely willing, he had refused her. That wasn't the most perplexing thing, though; what was was the fact that he had felt her, and she had begged him to continue, but he didn't. Instead, he ran away to his room, telling her he wasn't going to touch her until she turned eighteen.

He had ran to his room then, locking the door behind him. Athough his pants had began to feel very constricting, he never masterbated. Not once; his hands stayed where they belonged, and the growing erection between his legs was forced to resoleve itself. Hikari couldn't necessicarily fight down his emotions, but he could ignore them as though they weren't there.

Completely lost in his thoughts, Hikari didn't even realize Akara and Sasori had woken. (Did Sasori even have to sleep?) He was snapped back to reality when Akara walked over to him and stared down at him. "Ohiyo, Akara." He said, not looking up to her.

"Ohiyo, Hikari," she answered weakly, sitting beside him. Hikari, still glum with the last tugs of slumber, took out a cigarette and, popping it into his mouth, lit it with a lighter he had brought along. Hikari took a long drag, enjoying the calm it brought. Taking it in two fingers, he tapped off the ash and put it back in his mouth. Akara wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You know I hate you doing that around me," she reminded him, crossing her arms.

"Inside. Outside is free country."

"Hmph! That's going to be the death of you someday." Hikari smiled. He absolutely loved when she did the "hmph" thing. She sounded so cute and innocent...

"I'll live my life how _I _want to, thanks, brat." His smile was plastered on his face as he took another drag.

"_Brat?!_" She bellowed, throwing her fist down on his shoulder. "I am _not _a brat!"

"That reaction proves otherwise." He was loving the reaction she gave. Although he was only two years her superior, the way she acted always reminded him of a little sister, years younger.

Sasori awoke Deidara, and the only question that remained was: what to do with the ashes left behind from the fire. "I'll take care of it!" Akara offered happily. "Watch!" So the three of them did as she ordered and stood around her, waiting. Hikari knew what she was going to do, of course, but always found this jutsu of hers interesting. With it, she was able to turn anything she wanted into slay. She would then eat the clay, and it was stored in her body for future use. A very convenient jutsu indeed. Hikari took another long drag on his cigarette and tapped off the ashes. Already, it was half gone. Depressing.

Akara completed the seals for her jutsu and nodded her head, tapping the wood. Instantly, its shape melted away, and it was nothing but clay. Akara smiled proudly for a moment, then picked up a bit in both hands and began the process of devouring it. "Akara, what are you doing, un?" Deidara asked, taking an uncertain step forward.

Akara looked over her shoulder at him. "Hm? Oh, I'm eatin' clay! Want some?" She took another bite of the grey substance in her hand.

"Why are you eating it, though, un?"

Hikari answered for her. "Akara's a clay genius. She can alter any substance's molecular structure so that it turns into clay. Since she doesn't carry a pack with her, she altered her body a bit so that it dissolves the clay into her bloodstream and is available whenever needed, with her hands. Constant supply." Akara smiled and wolfed down the rest.

"Impressive, un."

"I'll teach you sometime, Chichi!" She offered, standing. "It's not that hard - it took me two years before I perfected it." She pulled a scroll out of her suit and unrolled it, adding her Chakra and nodded. In a puff of smoke appeared a large clay bird, large enough to sit her comfortably. "I'll shout overhead," she offered, "I'm tired of waiting."

"I'll go with you, un." Deidara created a baby bird of his own, and added his Chakra. The bird exploded, and in its places was another, slightly bigger bird then Akara's. Sasori nodded, and the two blondes jumped onto their birds and flew off.

Sasori and Hikari followed off behind on ground. There was a heavy silence between the two of them. Hikari, lost in his thoughts of Akara, had nothing to say to the puppet master. What could be said to someone he'd only just met?

"Akara seems fond of you." Hikari's voice stunned him as he jumped along beside Sasori.

The puppet master was silent for a moment before answering, "She's very much like her father."

Hikari nodded. "Looks just like him. He a good partner?"

"Good as any, I suppose. What's Akara like, now that she's older? Last time I saw her, she was eight years old and just beginning her training."

"She loves training - it's her obsession. Training and art. It's amazing how she incorperated them both into a weapon, a fighting style." He was being clouded by his love for her, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He had felt this emotion for her almost the day he had met her. Not because she looked good - although, in his eyes, she was beautiful - but because of her will to prove herself, because of her open mind. He adored everything she did, every way she moved. Kami, why had he denied her?

"Her fight with Uchiha Ita is sure to be nothing but interesting," Sasori replied. "Frankly, I'm eager to watch it."

Hikari nodded in agreement, but had nothing further to say. He jumped through the trees in silence, his mind wandering back to Akara and what he was planning on showing her when she turned eighteen...

The hours continued to pass, and the sun was setting before they reached the outskirts of Amegakure. Weary from ours of constant travel, Hikari jumped onto the ground and, when Akara's bird landed and she jumped off, collapsed onto it. "So...much...damn...jumping," he panted between breaths, unable to hide his weakened state. He wasn't really suited for being a ninja; his body was made to slip through two worlds - It wasn't necessarily a fighting machine.

"That's okay - Rirakkasu." Akara said to him, gently rubbing his back. "You can stay on Otome. She'll carry you."

Hikari, a being without a sense of pride, climbed onto Otome's back fully and let his limbs fall limp. "How long have...we been traveling?" He asked between breaths.

"Twleve hours," Sasori answered. "That _is _strenuous."

"Hikari's never been the 'stamina' type." Akara told him, still rubbing his back. "He tires easily."

"How can one be a sucessful ninja if they have no stamina?" Sasori asked, directing the question at Hikari.

"My body's built for my own art - it's made to switch through this world and mine." That was where his pride came in. "Don't insult my art," he threatened, although Sasori hadn't said a word about art.

"Do I need to change Otome's appearance?" Akara nervously changed the subject. "And shouldn't we get disguises or something?"

"In Ame? Nah. The Akatsuki's run this village for quite a while, un. They think Leader is a god." Deidara answered. "We won't be bothered. If anything, we'll be helped, un."

Akara nodded, and the four of them (Akara, Sasori, Deidara, and Otome) set off. They were at the city gates in almost no time, and were not challanged as they passed through. Towards the center of the bustling village, they were able to find a hotel room with vacancy. The four of them were treated as gods - being direct servants of "Pein" - and so they didn't have to worry about the cost of staying at a hotel for the night.

Climbing off Otome, Hikari looked around the hotel room he would be sharing with Akara. Beige walls, a grey-blue carpet, came colored bedsheets and window shades as the walls...Very plain. It felt comely enough, but it lacked detail.

A deep sigh resounded from Akara as she fell back onto the bed she had chosen (there were two. Sasori and Deidara were across the hall.) Hikari, sitting at a small, circular table in the right-hand corner, looked over at her. She looked so cute and inviting...Why had he denied her, again? "Can't wait for tomorrow! I'll finally be able to see my Danna again!"

"I doubt she still thinks of herself as your danna," Hikari replied, turning back to his sketchbook.

"She's my Danna, just the same." Akara told him, stretching out on her bed. "You don't know of the connection we share."

"Then why'd she leave you? If you have such a connection with her..." He was curious, and wanted to know the details - Akara had left the space inbetween the lines of her song painfully blank, and he needed to know.

Akara left her bed and sat across from him at the table. "You wouldn't understand," she told him dismally. "You haven't experienced a bond so strong."

Hikari looked up to her at this. "I have a strong bond with you. I've never bonded with someone so much before, and I most certainly have never told anyone the truth of my past." He meant that honestly, too. He had never bonded with anyone the way he had with her - that was why he had rewarded her with knowledge. Even to his own parents, he was painfully distant.

"Why did you reject me that night before we left?" Akara abruptly changed the subject with a fold of her arms. "If that had been Akira, he wouldn't have let the oppertunity slip."

Hikari put his pencil down, giving her his undivided attention. "Why do you want me so bad? What do you see in me?"

Akara hadn't expected that - her face was wiped of the previous anger and frustration that had crinkled her soft nose and creased her right brow. Her arms even unfolded a little. "I-I don't know," she stuttered. She had a bad tendency to stutter when surprised or nervous.

"Exactly." Hikari broke his own heart to save hers, "What you're feeling is nothing more then adolescent hormones. You've never even have a cruch, have you? What's more, you've never had a guider to tell you what you're feeling or how to react to it. You have no idea what you're asking for. Having done this numerous times before, I know the difference between craving and lusting. You're craving attention and love from another - something you've never been given before. The only way you know how is by doing what you think is right - dragging me into bed with you. That's not how it works, Akara."

Akara was ready to burst into tears - her face was as red as Sasori's hair. She sniffed once, and the tears welled. She blinked, and they streamed down her face, sparkling as they broke away and fell onto her hands. "I'm sorry," she said softly, staring down at her hands, "it won't happen again." And the tears flowed freely. Silently, but freely all the same.

Hikari wanted nothing more then to hold her and tell her how sorry _he _was, but he didn't know what to say. Standing, Hikari decided not to think. He stepped over to her and offered a hand. Akara looked up to him, a confused look glazing over her eyes. "Here, come with me." He took her hand and pulled her back, sitting on the bed. Akara followed him, unsure. "Why are you crying?" Hikari asked her, holding her face in his hands. He used his thumbs to rub the tears away. "I hate seeing you in so mush pain." He held her close - she nuzzled her head onto his chest.

"I just...don't know," she said through sobs, "I don't know exactly what I'm feeling, or how to express it. I'm so confused, and it hurts to much..."

Hikari moved his left hand to the back of her head and rested the right on the small of her back. "Listen, I'll strike a deal with you."

Akara backed off him in curiosity, her eyes cleaming. "A deal?" She repeated, wiping away the rest of the tears. "What sort of deal?" Cuiosity ran through each syllable.

"I'll give you what you want, but I'll also stay true to my word. I'll be your boyfriend, but I'll keep to my original prmoise and not 'touch' you until you're eighteen. Here's how it'll work: right now, I'll only kiss you. When you turn fifteen, I'll feel everything above your waist. At sixteen, I'll let my hands wander. At seventeen, I'll let my _mouth _wander. When you're eighteen, we'll go all the way. How's that sound?"

"Good." She bit her lower lip.

Hikari took that as an invitation. He leaned into her, planting a kiss on the left side of her throat. She moaned a little and brought her right hand up, ruffling it through his hair. THe mouth stayed closed - no one likes hair in their mouth.

Pressing against her as he nibbled her brow piercing, Akara completely gave in and fell onto the pillows. Hikari backed off, studying her. She dropped her hands to either side of her body, barely breathing. Her eyes were glazed over with uncertainty and lust. Hikari held himself above her and looked down on her. "Over that time," he ressurected the old promise he'd just proposed, "I'll show you everything I know..." He crashed his lips onto hers, loving the newfound taste of her lips. He backed off only for a second before turning to the side and kissing her again. "See? This is why I said no..." He moved to her throat. Her breathing was ragged by now.

Hikari removed the cuff of her jacket and bit down, not very softly. Akara cried out and sent both hands into his hair, gripping it a little too tightly for his preferences. "Damnit Hikari, that _hurt_!"

The sound of her voice spurred him on. He sovered her neck up again and traced up it with his nose. Stopping at her chin, Hikari nibbled it a bit, whispering, "Gomen. Do you see what I meant, know? I'm worried this'll hurt you..." He landed another soft kiss on her lips. Carefully holding himself up, Hikari made sure his hands were unable to move. Otherwise, he might hurt Akara in the most painful way possible.

Backing off again, Hikari laid down on her, burying his hands underneath her shoulder blades. "I like the way you taste," she whispered, her voice barely a hush.

"When I nibble your bottom lip, open your mouth." Hikari instructed, crashing onto her lips again. He hesitated a moment before gently nibbling her bottom lip. She did as instruced and opened her mouth. Hikari rushed inside, eager to taste her.

She tasted better then he'd hoped for, and that made him moan into her mouth. He leaned onto her, eager to explore more of her mouth. Her tongure cautiously followed his up and explored his mouth. He gently welcomed her, removing his own and wrapping it around hers. Akara let a soft moan escape, and Hikari felt that would be the death of him.

They broke off then, completely at a loss of breath. Hikari stared down at Akara, and she looked up at him, for a moment. Then, Hikari gave in and nuzzled his head between her neck and shoulder, on the left side. He'd had enough. Any more and he would have to force her all the way. Just this, however, was enough to satisfy him. He was happy now, at rest. Now that Akara was his...

Hikari lifted his head and looked down at a sleeping Akara. A smile tugged at his lips. Carefully, and slowly, he pulled the covers out from underneath them and pulled them over the two. Akara moaned a little, but Hikari soothed her. "Ssh, Akara. Go back to sleep."

"Stay with me," she ordered, barely awake.

"I will." He promised, wrapping his arms around her. She nuzzled her head in his chest and soon, both were out.

* * *

**Note:**

**Misai: shoot **

**Gomenasai: I'm very sorry**

**Gomen: Sorry **

**Oyasumi: Equivalent to "'Night." **


	8. Chapter 8: Why They Call Me Maiden

**Chapter 8: Why They Call Me Maiden**

Otome (Akara's clay bird) had reverted to a smaller form and jumped onto Deidara's shoulder, lying down and nuzzling in between his neck and shoulder. Being a creature of clay, she couldn't feel warmth or pain or cold, but could 'feel' his Chakra. It was explosive, like her Souzousha's, but something about his was more...comfortable.

Although she was not technically a live being, Otome was able to think and act for herself. Her Souzousha had told her she'd been created by accident - her Souzousha had breathed life into her when experimenting with a body-switching jutsu. er Souzousha didn't know exactly what happened, but Otome had been 'born' that day. Souzousha returned her to a scroll when the job was done, keeping her out of the way. This preserved her until Souzousha decided it was her time to explode - her time to die. Otome knew how life and death worked, but she often found herself questioning what would happen after she exploded. How did Souzousha's art work? She wasn't sure, and Souzousha would never give her much explination. One thing was a certainty, though: Souzousha was hesitant about forcing her to explode. But, just like Souzousha's other works, she aspired - no, _longed_ - to explode. She didn't know why, but ever since she opened her eyes, her soul was begging to explode. That was her greatest dream - to explode like Souzousha 's other arts. But she had to wait, and so she eagerly did, faithfully helping her Souzousha until the time came.

Currently, in Deidara and Sasori's room, Otome sat in the middle of a round table they were sitting around. Deidara looked like he was about to collapse, and Sasori...Well, Sasori fascinated her. He was just like she was, only made of metal and wood. But he was still a fascinating creature.

There was petty conversation passing between the two Akatsuki. "Why hasn't it exploded yet?" Sasori asked Deidara. She had learned their names after listening to their conversation all night.

"I don't know, un." Deidara admitted, poking Otome in the ribs. She chirped objectively and batted his finger away with one of her wings. "I guess that Hikari fellow wasn't bragging about Akara."

"She'll be quite the match for Ita," Sasori observed. _Who's Ita? _Otome asked herself. She made a mental note to ask Souzousha later. "They're almost perfect opposites."

Deidara nodded and poked Otome's ribs again, only harder. Although she didn't feel pain, she reacted like she had by biting him. He pulled his finger back quickly and popped it into his mouth, sucking the blood away. "A very odd bird indeed, un." He concluded.

Dawn had risen by now. It was almost nine, but Souzousha and Hikari had yet to wake. Deidara had slept for a while last night, rising with the sun. Sasori, being a creation like she, had stayed yo with her, prodding her and pulling at her limbs, determined to find something. Several times, Otome wanted to take her human form and tell him off, but she knew she couldn't. Doing so could break the vow she had made with her Souzousha: "I'll never tell anyone of my human form unless you give the okay." That was exactly what she had told her Souzousha when they had first conversed. Through it, the bond between them grew stronger. Her Souzousha had nodded fondly and began her learning process. SHe had much to learn if she was to exist in the world.

Finally, though, she was saved from the two Akatsuki. There was a knock at their door, and Souzousha and Hikari entered, closing the door behind them. Otome jumped up and flew over to Souzousha, nuzzling in the area between her shoulder and neck. It felt so good to be with her again...

"Ohiyo Otome, Danna, Chichi!" Souzousha began cheerfully. She had always been a morning person. Otome quickly chirped into Souzousha's ear the events of last night and this morning. "Really? Why not just show them?" Otome chirped her loyal answer, and Souzousha smiled. "Go ahead and show them." Sasori and Deidara eagerly crowded around her again.

Otome jumped off Souzousha and onto the floor, assuming her bigger shape as she did so. Then, covering her face in her wings, she slowly assumed her human form. The changes were never quick, and if she was caught between stages, she'd look like some sort of half-bird half-girl creation. Eventually the change was complete and she stood, pulling at her limbs and sighing in content. "Okay, _first _of all," she spat at the Akatsuki, "my limbs _don't come off, _and, although I don't feel it, _I don't like being poked!_" She pointed to first Sasori, then Deidara accusingly. They looked like a pair of fish; wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

"It...morphed, un?" Deidara asked in disbelief.

"That's why Souzousha named me Otome! 'Maiden'!" She answered proudly.

"Weren't you looking into doing something like this, Deidara?" Sasori asked him. "Creating an independant art? Like this?"

"Un," Deidara answered, closely staring at Otome. She held his gaze. "How'd you accomplish this, Akara?" He asked, looking up to her.

"It was an accident, actually." Souzousha admitted. "Back in Iwa, while come 'friends' were supervising my training, I stumbled upon a few scrolls. They had nothing to do with creating live things - actually, they suggested making a second body and using it to move your soul, as a protection thing - so I decided to try it. I made the body and completed the jutsu. I did _something _wrong, though, and instead of trading bodies, my soul was split in half. She was animated, and it took me a month to regain my full strength."

While the three humans conversed, Otome found herself studying both Deidara and Sasori. Deidara was Souzousha's father - there was no doubt about thar. They were twins. Sasori was a work of art; his body was perfectly smooth, the joints perfectly rounded out. His eyes were a beautiful slate color, and - although his face never showed any emotion - the eyes did. After a minute, she took a step away from the group and looked down to the mouths on her hands and wondered why she was sculpted so perfeclty to her Souzousha. There _had _been adjustments made after her 'birth,' but other then that, she was a perfect copy of her Souzousha at the time - eleven. Her chest was flat, hair down (as she requested) and covering her left eye. Souzousha had etched a simple mesh-based outift onto her frame. The mouths on her hands were useless, but still moved of their own accord. She was very much like her Souzousha , visually. Her personality, however, was completely opposite. Otome was loud and boisterous, always speaking her mind. Souzousha, however, was bubbly and cheery. Their personalities never clashed, though, because neither cared for fights.

Souzousha called her. "Otome? Ready?"

"Hai!" She said excitedly, curious as to where they were going, why, and what the place would look like.

The five of them left, then, walking along the streets of Ame. She had collected this information whilst listening to Sasori and Deidara talk. There was no conversation going on, and Otome found herself bored and irritated with the silence. "Why's is so quiet?" She asked loudly, looking to Souzousha on her left and Deidara on her right. "You four were all chitter-chatter two minutes ago!" She added irritably, realizing there was still a heavy silence over them.

"What's there to talk about?" Hikari asked her, looking over to her a little.

Otome felt herself shrink at his voice - she always had. "Well, anything, I guess...Why not fill me in? What've I missed?"

"That," Hikari replied, his voice thick with irritation, "is none of your concern."

Otome was just about to snap a reply when Souzousha turned to her and said, "Otome, I need you to go find the rest of the Iwate and bring them back to the Akatsuki base."

"How will I find it?" She asked, gruffily accepting the mission, realizing she was being left out.

Souzousha nodded, and Otome turned to face Deidara and Sasori. Deidara pointed slightly to the left, and Otome followed his arm. "We'll be right there, un."

Otome's jaw dropped at the sight of the grand temple standing in the side of a very tall mountain. There was a waterfall gently cascading down its side and seemingly into the temple. It was built for a Kage; one that stood three stories high, with the pointed roof for each landing. It's colors, of course, were red and black. "Oh, well, I suppose it won't be too hard to find you again." Otome managed, amazed. "I'll be going, then." She broke into a run, jumped, and her form broke into four small birds that flew in a seperate direction.

* * *

_**(Akara) **_

She waited for Otome to be out of earshot, then turned to Hikari and hissed, "Don't you _ever _abhor my art like that again. Wakaru?"

Hikari looked down on her for a minute, a crease of dissaproval over his eyebrows. It was only there for a second, however, before he looked away. "Raja," he answered. "Gomenasai."

Akara caught up to him, and they continued on to the Akatsuki's temple, again without words. Hikari broke the silence with a question. "Why aren't you bothered? The Akatsuki, I mean." He looked over to the two Akatsuki expectantly.

"A long time ago, before either of you were born, our leader killed Amegakure's Kage and saved the people." Sasori explianed, "They've thought he was a god ever since." He said that last bit with a little sarcasm.

Akara's mind was a little more then blank. She didn't know what to think, didn't know what to say. What was there to say? If anything, it was about Ita and the battle to come. _That _was what was blocking her thoughts! Predicted scenes of the battle with her danna continued to rush over her, forcing a quiet hush throughout her mind. She couldn't think of anything else - it was as if Ita had already trapped her in a genjutsu.

_Like blind people can cast genjutsu, _Akara scolded her empty mind.

Hikari's voice ripped her out of her trance. "Why'd you send for the Iwate?"

He was looking at her, but she ignored him and continued to look straight ahead. "We have to represent ourselves, don't we? You and I can't be the only represenatives of a ten-man group. Besides, I might not ever seen them again. The Akatsuki need to if they want to connect with them without me." Even to herself, her voice was perfectly hollow; she was ready to die, right there.

"Why are you so ready to die during the battle? Who knows, maybe this Ita person will be an easy opponent."

Akara shook her head. "You don't know her. If I have no other choice, I will not hesitate." Firmness set her jaw in a hard line.

Hikari and her Father completely stopped for a moment whilst she and Sasori continued on. "But _why_?" Hikari pressed. "Why give up your life so readily?"

"You're so _young, _un." Her Father added as they both picked up their pace to return to Akara and Sasori.

Akara didn't answer as her legs brought her to where she wanted to go. Her eyes locked on the temple, and her mind blocked out all opression. Nothing could stop her now; not now, that she was so determined to go out with a bang. _That's right, _she thought, almost proudly, _I've already decided how I'm going to die. Sorry Hikari, Chichi, but these may be the last few moments you'll ever remember of me. _Her heart felt heavy with the thought of leaving this life, but she ignored it. She'd lived enough. She'd felt enough pain, enough joy, enough love. She didn't have a reason to exist anymore.

"Otome was acting the same way," Hikari pressed, keeping up with her. "Although she was better at hiding it." She ignored him.

"The clay in her, perhaps, un?" Her Father replied, on her left. "Our style of clay can't stay in existence for too long - kinda like getting stale, un."

"That explains why Otome was acting gloomy, too." Hikari observed. "She's two years old, and Akara clay-based her blood two years ago."

Exhasperated, Akara looked over to first Hikari, then her Father, and replied, "Actually, she's picking up on my emotion. Her soul is my soul. I'm so nervous for this battle I can't think of anything else - just blank. She's thinking the same way, but doesn't know why, which was why she was so eager to learn what we were up to. That's also why I sent her off - I don't want her knowing until we're fighting. When I get nervous to a certain extent, I shut down. Otherwise I could explode."

"Definitely a daughter of Deidara," Sasori added.

Hikari looked around as though disgusted, then, before Akara was aware of what was happening, his arms scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder so that her head, arms, and breasts were dragging behind him, and everything below at his front. "You're slowing us down," Hikari told her as he picked up his pace, followed by Sasori and her Father, who were happy to be able to walk faster.

Her senses flung back then, and anger welled within her. The need to retaliate was almost overwhelming. "Hikari, what are you doing? Let me go!" She pounded her fists onto his back, willing her eyes away from Sasori and her Father, who were directly behind Hikari.

When she realized Hikari wasn't going to respond to her demands whatsoever, new rage planted itself within her. "Hikari, I _demand _you to let me go, damnit!" She pounded his back again, flailing her legs a bit as well.

"It's not going to help," he disuadded her, "I've learned to ignore emotion and pain alike. I'm not letting you down, and that's final."

The anger welled in her throat, causing an angry shreik. "Damnit, Hikari, lemme go! I can walk just fine!" She continued to pound at his back. "As leader of the Iwate, I _demand _you to - "

"I wouldn't go parading around my identity so loud." Hikari advised, and she responded with a growl, deep within her throat. "Just give it up. I'm not letting you down until we reach the place."

"If I wanted to be bitchy, I _could _use a jutsu. I've got tons of 'em."

"And I've seen _all _of them in action."

"Not all." She disagreed with a shake of her head, but refused to elaborate. "How long?" She asked warily, looking up and over to Sasori.

"It's on the other side of the village, and we're in no hurry, so I'd say by dusk." Sasori answered, knowing she had asked him.

Akara dropped her head warily. It was only noon, no later, she guesed. Using his shoulder blade to hold her left hand up, she cradled her face in that hand and studied the ground they had covered. At least she got a free ride. Hikair would tire soon enough, she knew, and he would let her down eventually, unable to support the extra weight. All she had to do was wait.

The hours continued to pass, and the sun continued to move across the sky. By now, Akara had lost all hope and want to be free, and had let her head and arms dangle freely. She had slept for maybe an hour, and after that found that she couldn't fely on the warm, inviting arms of sleep to pass the time. Utterly bored, she collected some clay from her Father and rolled it in her hands, mind perfectly blank. She had given up on even that, returning the clay, and let her arms and head dangle again.

"Are we there yet?" She asked warily, suddenly animated again. She used Hikari's should to support herself as she looked forward.

"Almost," Sasori answered. He wasn't lying; she could hear the thunderous waterfall as though she stood before it. Satisfyed, Akara allowed herself to look away from the temple and fall limp again.

"Hikari?" Akara called softly.

"Hn?"

"Can you tell me a story?" Something was begging for a work of fiction - for an escape from this world.

"I don't know any stories."

"Not even one?" Her heart sank.

Hikari was silent for a long while. "I _do _know one, actually. Would you like to hear it?"

"Onegai."

"It was predicted that two enemies would meet one another on the terms of fate. Male and female. The boy grew up wealthy and spoiled, and with an unmatched artistic skill. Said skill would lead to the death - or inmprisonment - of his mother. Impoverished, the boy would run from a vengeful father, meeting hardships and dangers he could never have imagined in his perfect, wealthy life.

"The boy would be condemned to the streets for two years, before he met his savior. She was predicted to be from another lanf, with slightly wavy, blonde hair and pastel-green eyes. Her hair was to be tied back, part covering her left eye. She was to be two years his inferior, but would offer a home after a strenuous battle for both sides. The boy would refuse the first offer, but the girl would come back and offer again. Something about his hazel hair and ocean eyes would fascinate her, and she would not be able to forget about him. He wouldn't forget, either, but kept her locked away.

"When she returned, the boy would warily agree to travel with her. She would take him away from his homeland and introduce him to hers, along with eight followers. He would join her and, accepted, travel and blossom in her example.

"Two messengers would come to bring the girl to her past, and of course, they boy will follow. He would follow her anywhere.

"In a horrible show of strength between the girl and an old friend, the girl, a sculpter, would kill herself in final attempts to prove her art worthy of attention. She would leave happily, though, because she would die with a bang, just like her art. Soon after, the boy would follow, desperate to see his savior again. He had to find his light, for without it, he'd be just another rock in the mountain. And her, without him, was just another leaf in the wind."

The story had chilled Akara, but she knew it was just a bad one Hikari had created to scare her. "Hmph. You're not a very good storyteller, Hikari." She chided, folding her arms.

"Actually, that was a prophecy predicted by my grandfather on his deathbed. He told my father, who told me."

"That's just rubbish," Akara stobbornly tired to convince herself. "Besides, I can't suicide-bomb." She bit her lower lip and looked her Father dead in the eyes.

"It's been a hundred percent correct up 'tll now." Hikari observed, "Even about Sasori and Deidara and which Villages we'd originate from. Even the number of members of the Iwate."

"Yeah, well...," she began, but lost her voice.

A heavy silence fell on the four of them, completely smothering Akara. The 'prophecy' had actually chilled her to the bone, but she couldn't let Hikari know that. Also, the prophecy was correct. She was able to suicide-bomb; it was her trump card, her last resort. _Of course it's a last resort, _she thought, _it kills me in the process. _

FInally, as the sun was setting, they made it to the temple. Sasori and her Father stepped forward, and Sasori did the honor. He knocked out a rythem on the door; knock, two pauses, five knocks, one pause, three. Hikari finally let Akara down. She quickly fixed her slothes, just in time to see the door open.

Behind the door stood an exhausted-looking Ita, holding a baby that couldn't be older then sixteen months in one arm, and gripping another child's hand in the other, whom was standing independently, sucking her thumb. Ita herself had blossomed into a beautiful flower indded; she had let her pink hair grow to shoulder length, was at least five foot four, and had to have filled d-cups. Her hips were perfectly proportioned to her breasts - her measurements had to have been somewhere around perfect. Her face was cherubis in itself - she had porcelain skin, which was clear as day, a small nose, and delicate eyebrows that seemed to have been painted on. Her mouth was bordered by medium-sized, pink lips and her chin was perfectly proportioned to the rest of her face. The wind blew, and with a simple toss of her head, Ita was able to move the hair to a more preferable position. Her nose still harbored the stud that had been with her ever since Akara had known her - it seemed to gleam in the sunlight and only added to her beauty.

"Deidara!" Her voice was a stab through Akara's heart - it was innocent in all aspects, but seemed to be hiding something. Although it was full of joy, and sounded something like music, there was a little bit of..._nervousness_ about it. Akara couldn't exactly place it. "Sasori's with you, I assume?" Her voice sounded much like her mother's, but had a more determined twinge to it. Pearly white teeth hid behind those luscious lips of hers.

Sasori nodded. "I'm here."

Ita nodded. "And...Akara." Akara's heart stopped. _Danna remembers my Chakra! _She thought happily. "It's good to 'see' you again." She smiled at the irony of her own sentence. Her smile was perfect - as though a god had created her for his leisurely uses - and only softened the intensity of her beauty. Although she kept her eyes closed, Akara knew she was really happy, and not pretending.

_Say something! _Her conscious shouted at her. _Let her know how happy you are! _"It's good to see you again, too, danna." She managed. Her voice faltered with anxiety, and a little bit of jealousy; it cracked at the 'danna.' Heart racing, Akara cleared her throat.

"Nervous," Ita noted. It wasn't a question. A child's voice, no older than eight, called from inside. Ita looked over her shoulder briefly, listening. With a heavy sigh, she turned back to them and ushered them inside. "Who're you?" Ita asked bluntly, letting go of the walking toddler and pointing at Hikari.

"Name's Light," he told her, as he told everyone.

"Hn. And why are you here?"

"What is this, twenty questions?"

"Precisely."

_Yup, _Akara thought, _these two will absolutely love one another. _Something told her they wouldn't exactly be the best of friends. "He's with me," Akara nervously interjected, lying a hand on their shoulders. She forced a chuckle at the look of dissaproval on Ita's face. "Don't worry, it's cool."

"That's what worries me." Ita's face darkened, and she speed up and turned the corner, leaving them. "I'll be right back," her voice echoed down the corridor.

Now that Ita was gone, Akara was able to breathe and look around at her surroundings. This base was very well-furnished; the room they were in contained an over-sized table - big enough to fit the members of the Akatsuki comfortably. The walls, ceiling, and floor were decorated the same, with teal blue panels connected by mahogany planks. The room they inhabited gave way to seven corridors, which lead further into the mountain on which the temple stood. Akara vaguely wondered why she couldn't hear the waterfall, but found she wasn't really interested in that.

Sasori and her Father sat at the table, which was rectangular like the old one, on the left side. Akara Hikari followed, sitting across from them on the right. Hikari flipped open his sketchbook and began a new drawing. "That was Ita, wasn't it?" He seemed irritated - even his sketching technique was blistered over with frustration.

"Hai." Akara held her head in her right hand, not wanting to ignite an inevitable flame.

"What's her problem?"

"She's just shy - she's never been one for new people. She'll warm up to you eventually, though."

"She sounded jealous."

"Of what? She's got no reason to be."

"Remember? You told her me and you were cool, and she said that's what worried her. I don't get it."

"Hmm, me neither. She probably expected me to come alone - I guess she wanted more of an oppertunity to speak to me." Even to herself, none of the reasoning she had come up with were very solid.

Ita returned then, followed by a boy Akara had recognized to be Mishu, the toddler whose hand she was holding when she answered the door, and twins. The baby she had been holding was gone - Akara guessed Ita had settled it down for a nap. Upon taking a closer look, Akara realized how doll-like _all _the Uchihas looked - Mishu, now somewhere around eight, had the same porcelain skin and doleful onyx eyes as his father. The twins had Sakura's evergreen color, only, they were much wider and full of curiosity. Both were male. One had Sasuke's rough hair, and the other Itachi's smooth raven style. Both shades and variations of black only made their emerald eyes seem darker and more captivating. The last, the first Akara saw with Ita at the door, had long pink hair - that was almost a straight as Deidara's - and large onyx eyes that grasped everything in their depth. She continued to suck her thumb, although Ita had commented about it. Her skin was just as clear as her siblings'

Akara looked back to Ita, studying her outfit. She wore nothing that gave away her identity; neither the Uchiha or Akatsuki embelm was anywhere. Instead, she wore a simple, black kimino that fit her form tightly. The bands of the kimino were red, giving the slightest mention of the Akatsuki. The was a visible fishnet covering her chest where the kimino opened in a v-shape. Other then that, her outfit was blank. _But of course, _Akara told herself, _Why would she wear anything better when she can't see it? _

"Akara," Ita began, "The twins are Neko and Hikomaru. The baby's a girl and she's Sasaki, the toddler's Chiyuki, and the boy's Mishu. Remember him?"

"Of course I do. He's so much like your father..." Akara studied Mishu in interest. "Do you remember me, Mishu?"

He was shy. He held his hands behind his back, feet apart a little. "No." Such a cute little voice! It was a little crackly, but in a good way. Maybe a little nazely, too, but still adorable.

"That's okay - last time I saw you, you were two."

Hikari mumbled something like, "Porcelain skin..." and Akara had to resist an intense urge to elbow him in the ribs. He was still sketching...

The five Uchihas took a seat, beside Sasori and her Father. They stared at Hikari and Akara as though they were from another world. Neko's eyes were wide with curiosity, along with Mishu's and Chiyuki's. But Hikomaru, the twin with the long hair and lines from the tear ducts to the cheeks, like the eldest Uchiha, was quiet and impassive. His emerald eyes scruitinized the both of them with a cold intensity, making Akara feel she was being washed over with ice water. _What intense eyes, _Akara thought, not shying from his gaze.

"What's that you're drawing, mister?" Neko asked, looking over at Hikari. Raw curiosity sparkled through his emerald eyes.

Hikari looked over his sketchbook and to the curious Uchiha. His ocean eyes were sharp with intent to capture whatever image he had conjured up. "A picture of Akara and Ita, when they were little." He looked back to his sketchbook, not expecting further questioning.

"You know nee-chan?"

"No. I'm guessing what they looked like based on what they look like now."

"Why?" Ita asked, her tone skeptical. "Eventually, the drawings will fade or be destroyed. Why cherish them? Your Chakra says you do."

The air around Hikari tightened with anger, and Akara stood, beginning, "Okay! Danna, wanna show me around? What happened to the waterfall? C'mon, let's go this way!" She pulled Ita to her feet and through the closest doorway.

"Please, Danna, don't criticize Hikari's art. He hates that, and I don't know how I'd be able to deal with you two - the most important people of my life - hating each other, especially if it's over me."

Ita opened her eyes and gruffed, "I don't like the feel of his Chakra." She folded her arms and leaned against the nearest wall.

"Why?"

"It's _different_; I've never felt anything like it before - it's so _irregular..._He's obviously not what he looks like."

"Danna, Hikari's a good man. I've known him for two years - I know he wouldn't be that way."

"I still don't trust him." Ita said defiantly. "I'm sorry, but something's not right. Maybe it's just because he's the first person I've ever met in a long time - I don't know. I'm sorry, but I can't trust him. I can't trust new people."

"What happened to you?" Akara whispered, trying and failing to resist the urge to move closer. Her arm twitched upwards towards Ita. "You used to hate being alone - to need the company of others. Why are you so nervous about him?" Ita didn't answer, so she continued, "You used to need the Chakra of others to see, but now, you're a lonester. What happened?"

Ita's face slowly turning red. She looked away from Akara's gaze and whispered, "After you left, I shut myself from the world. I convinced myself that I didn't need anyone, that I could live for myself. I only made friends with Deidara - I don't know why. As my training continued on and I grew older, I grew _colder. _I love my parents and siblings, but even they are painfully distant. I keep them away so that there's no pain. I was completely alone in this world, and perfectly fine with it. But now that you've shown up, I don't know what to think...You're making me see myself, and it's painful."

"Gomenasai, Danna." Akara said as she wrapped her arms around Ita. "Would you still like to be my shinyuu?" She whispered.

"I've never stopped thinking of myself as that." Ita whispered back. "Arigato."

* * *

**Note:**

**Nee-chan: Older sister **

**Gomenasai: I'm very sorry **

**Onegai: Please **

**Otome: Maiden **

**Souzousha: Creator **

**Raja: Rodger (As in, yes) **

**Wakaru: Understand **


End file.
